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Spotlight on: First Solar

Q & A with Jack Curtis, a Director with First Solar

Tell us a little bit about your company.
First Solar is a leading provider of thin-film solar photovoltaic (“PV”) panels and engineered solar power plants. We utilize advanced technology that has enabled significant and continuing reductions in solar electricity costs. In addition, First Solar operates a sustainable, closed loop product life cycle that protects the environment, while also minimizing its carbon footprint and energy requirements.

Today, First Solar is one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost manufacturer of PV panels. We have managed to reduce our solar panel manufacturing cost to 85 cents per watt, which represents a cost reduction of approximately 70% over the past five years.

By the end of this year, First Solar will have an annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 1.2 GW. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life collection and recycling, First Solar is focused on creating cost-effective renewable energy solutions that protect the environment.

Why did you decide to join the Clean Energy Council?
First Solar decided to join the CEC to increase our involvement in Australia’s developing renewable energy landscape. We have actively participated in the development of a number of renewable industries and regulatory platforms in many regions throughout the globe and are committed to sharing that experience in Australia.

The CEC’s broad member base and effective advocacy of policy development provide an ideal platform for promoting understanding and awareness of the potential for large-scale solar generation in Australia.

What opportunities do you see for your company in the clean energy area?
Australia has all the necessary attributes for the successful development of a sustainable large-scale solar industry. With the implementation of an appropriate regulatory platform in the near future, we believe that the industry can scale up quickly and drive towards unsubsidized grid parity (i.e. cost competitive against the marginal unit of traditional generation) within the next five years. The first crucial step is to promote and validate the viability of large-scale solar generation in Australia.

There is also a big opportunity for solar PV that is both connected to the electricity grid and in off-grid locations. Our first Australian project was a 1 MW rooftop installation at the Adelaide Showgrounds, currently Australia’s largest solar PV installation. Taking advantage of solar PV’s modular and scalable flexibility will allow the industry to help alleviate constraints such as transmission and network charges on residential and commercial rooftops and the high cost of diesel generation in remote communities.

What are some of the challenges for you in the Australian clean energy market at the moment?
The key challenge is promoting the viability of large-scale solar generation. There is a general perception in all emerging large-scale solar markets that the technology is too expensive to serve as an effective source of centralized generation. The significant cost reductions (both in the panel and the design and installation of the system) that First Solar and other solar manufacturers have achieved over the past five years demonstrate that this is no longer the case.

However regulatory support in the near future is crucial to help close the cost gap. Australia has proposed a number of very encouraging initiatives both at the State and Federal Government level, including the Solar Flagships Program. Ensuring that these initiatives are effectively structured will provide solar industry participants with the necessary visibility to encourage further development and investment in the sector.

One of our more immediate concerns at the regulatory level is the dramatic fall in renewable energy credit prices and the existing policy structures that have driven that fall. Without a stable REC market in the near to mid-term, proposed large-scale renewable energy projects will suffer from a lack of cash flow visibility and potentially not be developed.

Which person in the renewable energy or environmental space would you most like to have around for dinner and why?
The Hon Penny Wong MP, Minister for Climate Change and Water. Minister Wong has the ability to strike the difficult balance between effectively promoting Australia’s renewable energy agenda and doing so in a way that is commercially achievable. This is an especially daunting task within the scope of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

First Solar would be eager to share our regulatory experiences in Europe and the United States, including those policy initiatives that have succeeded and failed.