First Solar Reaches 5GW of O&M Assets

(WK-intern) – Intends to grow market share in EMEA region

First Solar, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: FSLR) Operations and Maintenance (O&M) has announced it now has 5 gigawatts (GW) of assets in its portfolio of solar power plants, firmly establishing it as the largest O&M provider in the world.

First Solar Energy Services, which has held the top position on GTM Research’s “Global O&M and Asset Management” report for the past two years, surpasses the next nearest O&M provider by approximately 1.8GW.

“Our customers have entrusted us to make sure they get the most out of their investments,” said Troy Lauterbach, Vice President, First Solar Energy Services. “We help them minimize risk and maximize the value of their renewable energy assets.”

First Solar Energy Services has grown alongside the solar industry over the past half-decade. In 2009, the fledgling O&M group commenced operation of the 21MW Blythe Solar Project in California, which at the time was the largest PV plant in the world. Today, the group operates and maintains solar power plants for owners in 10 countries, and include some of the largest PV power plants in the world.

In 2014, First Solar acquired skytron energy, expanding system monitoring capabilities and access to new regions. As a wholly owned subsidiary of First Solar, skytron energy maintains its own portfolio of more than 6GW of solar power plants utilizing its monitoring technology.

“Our ability to optimize power plants virtually anywhere in the world is a critical strength, as emerging solar energy markets, such as the Middle East, start to add significant volumes of capacity,” said Stefan Degener, Senior Director for First Solar Energy Services in the Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We also intend on growing our market share in mature markets, such as Europe, as plant owners seek to maximize energy yields by investing in professional O&M services.”

Reinforcing its global presence, First Solar Energy Services established a new Operations Center in Berlin in 2015. Managed and operated by skytron energy, the Center provides industry-leading remote monitoring, real-time supervision and plant control capabilities for solar energy assets located across the EMEA region. Other First Solar Operations Centers (FSOC) are located in Tempe, Arizona and Sydney, Australia. The flagship Tempe FSOC is frequently visited by grid operators, regulators and energy industry experts from around the world seeking demonstrations of First Solar’s unmatched operations technology and capabilities.

For First Solar Investors

This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements, among other things, concerning: effects on our financial statements and guidance resulting from pending tax matters; our business strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and management plans for our business and the markets in which we operate; future financial results, operating results, revenues, gross margin, operating expenses, products, projected costs (including estimated future module collection and recycling costs), warranties, solar module efficiency and balance of systems cost reduction roadmaps, restructuring, product reliability, investments in unconsolidated affiliates and capital expenditures; our ability to continue to reduce the cost per watt of our solar modules; our ability to reduce the costs to construct PV solar power systems; research and development programs and our ability to improve the conversion efficiency of our solar modules; sales and marketing initiatives; and competition. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as „estimate,“ „expect,“ „anticipate,“ „project,“ „plan,“ „intend,“ “seek,” „believe,“ „forecast,“ „foresee,“ „likely,“ „may,“ „should,“ „goal,“ „target,“ „might,“ „will,“ „could,“ „predict,“ „continue“ and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the matters discussed in Item 1A: „Risk Factors,“ of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other reports filed with the SEC.
About First Solar GmbH

First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) solar systems which use its advanced module and system technology. The company’s integrated power plant solutions deliver an economically attractive alternative to fossil-fuel electricity generation today. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life module recycling, First Solar’s renewable energy systems protect and enhance the environment. For more information about First Solar, please visit www.firstsolar.com.

PR: First Solar