First Solar announced that it is transitioning away from its internal engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) execution model in the United States, and moving towards leveraging the capabilities of trusted EPC partners.
The transition to leveraging third-party EPC services will occur through the rest of 2019 and will not impact any projects under construction and slated for delivery this year. This evolution will allow the company to solidify its competitiveness and position as America’s leading solar module manufacturer, First Solar stated in a press release.
First Solar is expanding its manufacturing capacity to meet the demand for Series 6 modules, with its second facility in the United States — representing nearly $1 billion in cumulative investment — expected to start production in early-2020. Once operational, the new facility in Perrysburg, Ohio, will take the company’s aggregate Series 6 manufacturing capacity to 5.4 GW per year, allegedly making First Solar America’s largest solar manufacturer.
“This transition, which mirrors the technology shift to the large-format Series 6 module, marks the natural evolution of our long-term growth strategy,” said Mark Widmar, CEO, First solar. “While self-performed EPC was necessary to optimize our earlier generation modules, the seamless compatibility of Series 6 with industry systems and processes now allows us to leverage a much broader external ecosystem of knowledge and expertise.
“We expect that this shift will allow us to concentrate on our core business of scaling, developing and selling our world-class module technology while executing on our project development pipeline with the same level of service that our customers have come to expect,” Widmar added.
The transition will impact approximately 100 associates who will be separated from the company at various stages of the process and will be provided with compensatory and outplacement support.
News item from First Solar
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