As the largest photovoltaic company in the United States, First Solar's module shipments are not inferior to my country's photovoltaic companies.

 

According to data from the research and data analysis agency Global Data, First Solar's module shipments in 2018 were 2.7GW, ranking 11th in the world. A year-on-year growth of 105% in 2019, shipments reached 5.5GW, and the global ranking also rose to 8th. In 2020, module shipments will further increase to 6.3GW. In the past few years when Chinese module companies have swept the world, First Solar shipments can maintain rapid growth, which is not easy.

 

The reason is that the technical route taken by First Solar and my country's module companies are not consistent. At present, the modules produced by photovoltaic enterprises in our country all use crystalline silicon solar cells, while First Solar is a thin-film solar cell. It uses inexpensive ceramic, graphite, metal sheet and other materials as the substrate, and the thickness of the thin film that can generate voltage is only a few μm. Compared with the 175μm-thick silicon wafer of crystalline silicon solar cell, the cost of silicon material is obviously lower.

 

Such technical differences have no obvious impact on their respective costs under normal circumstances, but in the context of the recent surge in domestic silicon material prices, they have had an important impact on their respective operations.

 

According to the latest silicon material transaction price of the Silicon Industry Branch, the domestic single crystal double-feed material price range is between 21.0 and 221,000 yuan/ton, and the average transaction price is 216,800 yuan/ton. Many companies have chosen to reduce production capacity to stay on the sidelines, which is likely to affect my country's annual installed capacity target.

 

First Solar does not have such "troubles", and the cost of silicon materials for thin-film solar cells is not high. At the same time, a comprehensive module recycling system has been established in the United States, so there is no need to worry about the price increase of silicon materials.

 

In 2020, First solar achieved revenue of US$2.711 billion (approximately RMB 17.418 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 11.48%; however, the net profit attributable to the parent was as high as US$398 million (approximately RMB 2.557 billion). Yuan), a year-on-year increase of 446.6%, which has surpassed the performance of most photovoltaic companies in my country.

 

In the context of the U.S. government's strong support for renewable sources, First solar has also embarked on the road of expansion. According to the previously announced plan, First Solar will increase its production capacity to 8.7 GW and 9.4 GW by the end of 2021 and the end of 2022.