First Solar
March 6, 2017
First Solar Q4’16 Results – What do the Numbers Mean? First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), the largest thin film maker in the U.S. recently announced its Q4 2016 results. […]
November 29, 2016
FSLR Plans to Launch a Super Large And Cheap Solar Panel Western solar manufacturers face an existential crisis almost every few years, as the Chiense solar […]
November 9, 2016
First Solar not launching Series 5 Solar panel prices have crashed by around 30% globally in 2016 which has made every major producer rethink their strategy […]
August 12, 2016
First Solar Q2 2016 Results First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) has been a key player in the solar thin film technology. In fact it is amongst the […]
May 3, 2016
First Solar Q1’16 Results First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) gave another good set of results for Q1’16 with improved operational results and potential bookings. Though the levels of […]
June 29, 2015
First Solar starts 20 MW solar power plant in Telangana commercially First Solar starts its first Solar project in India. The company started the commercial operation […]
March 24, 2015
Global Solar capacity to reach ~500 GW in 2019 Total solar capacity to reach close to 500 GW in 2019, according to a recent report by […]
July 30, 2014
FSLR’s Solar farm in Mongolia We are Greenworldinvestor have chronicled how First Solar’s (FSLR) massive solar farm to be built in Mongolia was a non-starter right […]
June 11, 2014
First Solar (FSLR) is amongst the world’s largest utility scale solar system installers and producer of solar panels. The company recently released its Q114 results, which […]
October 14, 2013
First Solar sells Assets at Loss We have been consistently bearish on First Solar during the entire rally of the solar sector in the last one […]
August 23, 2013
Thin Film Share to Plunge Further We in Greenworldinvestor have been saying for a long time that thin film PV solar is a losing investment. There […]
August 12, 2013
My last article on GE-FSLR collaboration raised many readers’ doubts about why I think this agreement will not be very fruitful. Hence here goes another article […]
August 8, 2013
FSLR acquires GE’s Thin Film technology First Solar is the world’s leading producers of solar panels with a solar panel technology that differs from almost all […]
July 2, 2013
The State of Indian Solar Industry This headline may seem a bit dramatic but that is the current reality being faced by the Indian industry today. […]
May 31, 2013
China forces Foreign companies to set factories in China China has done a fabulous job in forcing foreign companies to play by its rule in the […]
May 22, 2013
FSLR thinks Indian Regulatory system to be “relatively sophisticated” India has been a big market for the US based First Solar (FSLR), with the company already […]
May 21, 2013
Positive Solar Market Reaction following JASO The solar stocks have been very volatile. It is very difficult investing in this sector, because the sector has become […]
May 16, 2013
Solar Industry sees some Positive Light The recent news flow in the solar industry has started taking a positive slant with increasing panel prices and resurgent […]
April 11, 2013
First Solar (FSLR) We have been bearish on First Solar for some time as we felt that the company’s thin film technology is no longer competitive […]
October 23, 2012
First Solar stock has been on a roll in recent times and has doubled in a short span from its all time lows. This is in […]
October 9, 2012
US based thin film solar panel manufacturer First Solar has captured the lead marketshare in India’s solar panel market. This is quite surprising since First Solar’s […]
May 31, 2012
Solar Stocks have made their investors suicidal with drops of of 80-90% from the top common even amongst the biggest solar companies. A number of solar […]
March 29, 2012
This may be a dramatic statement to make about the world's most valued solar company but there are several reasons which I will explain below to illustrate this point. Note the solar industry is in a league of its own in the astonishing drop it solar panel prices (80% price drop over the last 3-4 years) and the rapid increase in demand (60% CAGR over the last 10 years).So the comparison and analysis by your usual stock hacks on financial portals like Motley and Seeking Alpha is way off the mark. First Solar had the worst 2 quarters in its history in 2011 as it went from a record breaking profit company into the red. Many issues which were hidden by its past success came out in the open and some of them are life threatening. Here are these problems
July 6, 2011
Solar Thin Film Technology has been growing rapidly despite falling costs of the mainstream Photovoltaic Crystalline Silicon Technology.While the current solar supply glut has resulted in some of the thin film solar film companies going out of business,big thin film suppliers continue with their growth plan.Solar Thin Film Technology is supposed to be the 2nd Generation successor to the mainstream Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) Technology which accounts for around 85% of world production.While a number of Weaker Hands in Thin Film have downed shutters,Thin Film Producers continue to grow and expand.The massive growth potential of Solar Energy makes it possible for both of these PV technologies to flourish.Thin Film Technology unlike c-Si has a number of variants.Amorphous Silicon (a-Si),Copper Indium Gallium Sulphide (CIGs) and Cadmium Tellurium (Cd-Te) are the 3 main types of Thin Film Technology.There are a number of manufacturers of all of these 3 types of Technology.CIGs Technology is said to have the most potential in improving efficiency and competing with c-Si,however Cd-Te is currently the top dog as the world’s biggest solar producer First Solar currently uses this technology.a-Si Technology is not that hot with low efficiencies however Oerlikon and Sharp are pushing ahead with developing this technology.
July 6, 2011
Solar Panel Manufacturers in USA are facing a torrid time from the falling prices of Chinese solar panels.This has caused the bankruptcies of some big solar panel companies in recent times like Solyndra,Spectrawatt and Evergreen Solar.Only those solar panel companies with the lowest cost and good quality will manage to survive the price war in solar panels that is currently on.Most companies are running losses as the prices of solar panels have decreased by 40% in 6 months.This would cause any industry to see massive bankruptcies and this is the case with the solar panel industry as well.Note Solar Industry is a new one with rapid technology and cost changes which makes startups with bad business models go bust.This is a natural effect of capitalism and nothing to be afraid of .However you have to be careful of which solar panel manufacturer to buy from as your 25 year solar panel warranty will become useless if the solar panel manufacturer from which you brought the solar panel goes out of business.On the Bright Side the sharply declining costs of solar has made it the biggest advantage of using solar power.
July 6, 2011
First Solar is going to the biggest producer of solar panels in the world despite having a solar panel technology which differs from almost all of its competitors.First Solar Solar Panels use Cadmium-Tellurium Thin Film Solar Technology while the majority of the Solar Industry uses Crystalline Silicon Technology.Despite the difference First Solar is the most valued solar stock in the world and has been for a long time.Despite stiff competition from the silicon technology and most of the thin film companies going bankrupt,First Solar has managed to hold on cutting costs and improving yields continuously.In fact First Solar Solar Panels have the lowest cost of production in the world.First Solar Solar Panels efficiency has also increased in the last few years such that First Solar is now targeting commercial segments of the market.Note First Solar earlier used to sell solar panels mostly to developers and utilities to build ground mounted solar panel farms where the lower efficiency of the Cd-Te solar panels did not matter.The reason is that in large solar farms space and area constraints are not there unlike in rooftops where the space is a major issue.
June 30, 2011
Huge Solar Panel Projects are being planned in the USA by solar developers and utilities as solar panel prices have fallen by 20-30% in the second quarter of 2011 as solar panel manufacturers are faced with oversupply and inventory issues.Note building both coal and nuclear power plants in the US has become increasingly difficult with pollution and climate change issues coming to the fore.While natural gas is getting a boost due to cheap shale gas discoveries,solar energy is picking up pace due to the government support in the form of DOE Loan guarantees and Treasury Grant programs like 1705.Recently two very large solar panel projects have been announced or are in the process over the next 3-4 years.
May 31, 2011
According to the Financial Express, a top US Thin Film Based module manufacturer is exploring the possibility of setting up a facility in Tamil Nadu with an investment of $500 million (approximately R2,255 crore) in the coming months.Note the sources have not revealed the name of the company but it is evident from the investment amount,solar technology that the company is First Solar.A a top level team from the company is expected to visit sometime early next week to initiate discussions with the state government officials.Note First Solar has been emphasizing the importance of India for its growth aiming to supply 100 MW of solar panels in 2011 itself which would make it a leader in the Indian solar industry.Other top solar panel companies like Suntech and Trina too have been investing heavily in selling their solar panels in India through partnerships with local companies.
May 10, 2011
JSW Energy has set up JSW Green Energy a 100% subsidiary to enter the renewable energy in India.Not while Wind Power in India is already a huge industry with more than $3 billion in annual investment,Solar Power in India is set to eclipse this soon.JSW Green Energy is looking to set up solar power plants and solar rooftops in the country.For this it has ordered 500 KW of CIGs solar panels from embattled American Thin Film company Energy Conversion Devices.Note ENER is already under huge pressure as it fails to compete with low cost Chinese players.ENER which markets its BIPV Solar Panels under the United Solar brand sells mostly in France and Italy which have higher subsidies for BIPV Panels.Like other American companies ECD has significantly ramped down and moved Green Jobs to Mexico in order to suriveNote CIGs Panels are of lower efficiency than the normal mainstream crystalline solar panels.ENER Solar Panels are mostly used in BIPV and BAPV applications since they are not as cost effective and efficient as normal solar panels.Thin Film in India is rapidly increasing penetration with the Thin Film Leader First Solar targeting 100 MW of Solar Panels in 2010 itself which would make it the biggest solar panel supplier in India.
April 17, 2011
America currently has a massive number number of startups in the clean energy industry and a lot of them in the fastest growing green industry that is the solar sector.However like startups in all industries a lot of them will fail,some will sell themselves to others like Heliovolt,Ausra while a few will make it really big making a fortune through IPOs for their PE investors and owners.One or two will make fortunes for those who invest early as well like First Solar.Note First Solar despite numerous ups and downs is still up more than 450% from its IPO price five years ago.It won't be the last either.So despite the strong competition in the solar industry where numerous companies and technologies are jostling in the more than $70 billion global market,one or two of the smart ones will become huge winners like Intel or Microsoft.So which are the solar startups which are showing the most promise.Four of them are currently leading the pack while a few others have got a reasonable chance of success as well though they need to prove more like Stion and Miasole.Some of the more hyped ones like Solyndra have gone on a slimming down mode and might make a comeback though it will be tough.There are some others in stealth mode which may become big also.But here is the list of the Four Best Solar Startups in the Solar Electronics,Solar Panels and Solar Thermal Sectors.