First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced its Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) team has installed its 10 millionth solar photovoltaic (PV) module in a utility-scale solar power project. The installation took place at the 550 megawattAC (MW) Desert Sunlight Solar Farm solar project that the company is constructing for NextEra Energy Resources and GE Energy Financial Services. First Solar is the largest PV solar power plant construction firm, and was recently recognized by Engineering News-Record as the fifth largest construction firm in the power sector.
The Desert Sunlight project is part of First Solar's 2.7 gigawatt AC (GW) utility-scale solar project pipeline in North America, which will support 7,000 supply chain and construction jobs over the next several years. Desert Sunlight, located near the community of Desert Center in Riverside County, Calif., is creating an average of 400 construction jobs.
"Today's milestone underscores First Solar's leadership in delivering integrated PV solar power plants, and it's only just the beginning," said Jim Lamon, First Solar Senior Vice President of Engineering, Procurement and Construction and Operations and Maintenance. "It's also fitting to install our 10 millionth EPC module at the Desert Sunlight project, which will set a solar record as well. When completed in 2015, it will be one of the two largest PV solar projects in the world, along with the 550 MW Topaz project we're building in San Luis Obispo County."
First Solar has cumulatively produced almost 80 million of its advanced thin-film solar modules, enough to circle the earth almost 2.5 times. The total represents a peak generating capacity of more than 6 GW, enough to power 3 million homes and displace over 4 million tons of CO2 per year.