First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR) continues to snatch headlines with its meteoric rise in the solar industry.
The company has announced that it has become the first photovoltaic solar manufacturer to build and ship more than 1 gigawatt of photovoltaic solar modules in one year. This is quite a feat for First Solar, considering it has come in 2009, a year where the solar industry is still hampered by poor economic conditions.
According to First Solar, one gigawatt of photovoltaic solar modules produces enough electricity to power 145,000 average American homes, and can eliminate around 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
First Solar's growth has been exponential--in 2007 the company was capable of producing 75 megawatts worth of solar modules, and in less than three years the company has increased that capacity ten fold, and become the largest solar manufacturer in the world.
Furthermore, Bruce Sohn, First Solar's president, highlighted the global impact of his company's announcement: "this proof that the solar industry can achieve the manufacturing scale necessary to fight climate change is especially timely in light of the Copenhagen conference that began last week."
Read the full story at First Solar, Inc.: First Solar Becomes First PV Company to Produce 1GW in a Single Year
Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has researched and reported on the issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change for over two years. He has provided research to the New York Times and The Economist, as well as being published on different media outlets including, The Energy Collective.
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