First Solar

Origis Energy USA announced it has selected Renewable Energy Systems to construct the Origis Energy Tanglewood Solar project, a 57.5-MWAC solar farm in Mitchell County, Georgia. Origis Energy developed the solar site as one of the facilities under the Georgia Power Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) serving the utility’s customers participating in the Commercial and Industrial REDI (C&I REDI) program. This contract represents the first construction partnership between Origis Energy and RES. Origis Energy will own and operate the facility.

Dominion Energy has acquired a 72MW PV project from First Solar that is expected to enter service in late 2019. The installation will provide power and renewable energy attributes under a Dominion Energy South Carolina contract that was previously filed and accepted in South Carolina.

Dominion Energy has acquired a 72-MW solar project still under construction in Beaufort county, South Carolina, from First Solar.

Thin-film solar panel manufacturer First Solar today announced the start of production at its new PV module manufacturing facility in Lake Township, Ohio — a few miles from its flagship 600-MW factory in Perrysburg, Ohio. With the completed addition, First Solar has a total annualized production capacity of 1.9 GW in the United States. The company also manufactures panels in Malaysia and Vietnam.

‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member, First Solar said it was sold out of thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar modules through the second half of 2021 as the company continues to ramp its Series 6 larger-area modules.

DE Shaw Renewable Investments has purchased two neighbouring PV projects in Utah contracted to provide power to Facebook from developer First Solar.

D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) announced it has acquired First Solar’s Cove Mountain and Cove Mountain 2 projects in Iron County, Utah. The acquisition of the two projects, the sales of which were previously disclosed by First Solar and which total 180 MWAC in capacity, nearly doubles DESRI’s portfolio of First Solar-developed projects to over 360 MWAC.

The Italian fossil fuel company is not hanging around when it comes to diversifying into PV, with almost 1.5 GW of generation capacity plugged in since the start of last year.

Bifacial module yields, manufacturer bankability probing and quality benchmarking strategies have all taken centre stage at this year’s edition of PV ModuleTech in Malaysia.

The 121 MWdc Springbok 3 project in Kern County, California, brings the Springbok series to 448 MW, as Capital Dynamics continues its investments in U.S. solar.

The Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has allegedly attracted the second lowest global solar bid for a 900MW tranche of the 5GW Mohammed Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) solar park in Dubai.

Although the Wiki-solar website ranking only gives a snapshot of PV project engineering, procurement and construction contracts outside China, it is nevertheless a useful indicator of the changing shape of the global solar market.

U.S. manufacturers First Solar and SunPower could be among the winners following the announcement that the Trump administration will impose a 25% tariff on bifacial panels, although analysts warned that the new tariffs could be an overall negative for the industry.

The US government has extended its solar import tariffs to bifacial modules, in a policy u-turn set to partially redraw the global trade flows of the fast maturing technology.

The U.S. Trade Representative has not responded to claims it will end the exemption from Section 201 duties. If true, the development could be a big hit for Asian PV manufacturers and an annoyance for the U.S. market – but a positive for First Solar.