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High Performance. High Volume. |
First Solar PV modules are the first thin film PV modules to reach 2GW of modules in installations. To support the growing demand, First Solar continues to push the limits on volume manufacturing. Integrating each production step, First Solar manufactures the modules on high throughput, automated lines from semiconductor deposition to final assembly and test – all in one continuous process. The whole flow, from a piece of glass to a completed solar module, takes less than 2.5 hours.
Multiple years of high volume production have given way to First Solar's efficiencies, high energy yields, low production costs and excellent system performance ratios. Using a unique proprietary replication process called Copy Smart™, First Solar can ensure that each manufacturing facility mirrors the others in product efficiency, reliability, and safety. |
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More Electricity Under Real World Conditions |
With less than 2% of the equivalent semiconductor content found in crystalline silicon PV modules, First Solar modules are engineered to deliver high energy yields. Using cadmium telluride (CdTe) as the semiconductor material, First Solar makes it affordable to convert solar energy into the type of electricity we use everyday.
In general, solar cells become less efficient at converting solar energy into electricity as their cell temperatures increase. At First Solar, however, the efficiency of CdTe, the semiconductor used, is less susceptible to cell temperature variations than traditional semiconductors. — CdTe also converts low and diffuse light to electricity more efficiently than conventional cells. Together, this means First Solar modules produce more electricity on hot days, under cloudy weather and across a larger percent of normal daylight.
These attributes have led the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado to recognize CdTe's potential for achieving the lowest production costs among current thin film technologies. (Photon International, November 2004, page 50). As a result, future module costs well below $1.00/Wp have been predicted by NREL and others.
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Cadmium Telluride |
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| CdTe technology is uniquely capable of driving solar to be a viable economic solution to climate change and energy independence. |
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 Cadmium Telluride |
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Environment |
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| Clean, affordable, sustainable energy and extended producer responsibility are at the heart of First Solar's commitment to the environment. |
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| Environmental Commitment |
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Life Cycle |
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| First Solar takes into account the entire life cycle of our operations from raw material sourcing through end-of-life collection and recycling. |
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| Life Cycle Management |
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