Capital Power will buy thin-film solar modules from First Solar for projects in North America, with deliveries starting in 2026.
First Solar has revealed that Canadian power producer Capital Power has ordered 1 GW of its Series 6 Plus solar modules. The modules are expected to be delivered in 2026-2028, as to the demand for First Solar’s technology pushes its orders further into the future.
“Capital Power joins a growing group of project developers partnering with First Solar as a trusted supplier of module technology that can help de-risk their projects by providing long-term pricing and supply certainty,” said Georges Antoun, First’s Chief Commercial Officer. Sun. “We are satisfied that Capital Power chose Responsible Solar technology to produce its power resources reliably, affordably and sustainably.”
Capital Power has 7.5 GW of capacity at 29 facilities in North America. The company has a mixed asset base of solar, wind, gas, energy storage and waste heat plants. It has a US solar pipeline of about 2.4 GW (DC).
In the year the first quarter, First Solar executed 9.9 GW of contracts and recorded 1.9 GW of sold volume, resulting in totals of 69.4 GW with a combined value of $20.4 billion. During the quarter, First Solar produced 2.36 GW of Series 6 panels.
First Solar’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film modules have the smallest carbon and water footprints of any solar module commercially available today. The company’s CdTe technology certified a new record in the first quarter of 2023 with a conversion efficiency of 22.3%.
The modules are included in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry for sustainable electronics, signifying strong performance in metrics that assess product content management, manufacturing energy and water use, product packaging, end-of-life recycling and business. responsibility.
“Credible life-cycle ecolabels like EPEAT make it easier for solar developers, investors and end users to identify environmentally leading products from socially responsible companies,” said Samantha Sloan, First Solar’s vice president of policy, sustainability and marketing.
The module supplier is investing $1.3 billion to expand its US manufacturing footprint from more than 6.5 GW of current annual nameplate capacity to around 10.9 GW by 2026. About $1.1 billion was invested in the company’s new 3.5 GW plant in Alabama, with $185 million directed. improving and expanding its original facility in Ohio.
The company also announced that it will invest up to $370 million in a research and development innovation center that is scheduled to begin operations in 2024.
First Solar also recently introduced a fully operational, pre-commercial, bifacial thin film PV modules at Intersolar Europe in Munich, Germany. First Solar’s research and development teams are said to have developed a transparent back contact for the module. This innovative feature allows infrared wavelengths of light to pass through the back of the module instead of being absorbed as heat. It also enables the production of bifacial energy. The manufacturer said this technology lowers the module’s operating temperature and increases its specific energy output.
