First Solar, Inc. announced that it has entered into five agreements for the manufacture and sale of solar modules totaling 685MW. These new agreements are expected to allow for sales of approximately $1.28 billion at an assumed exchange rate of $1.30/€1.00, over the period of 2007 to 2012. Included in the new agreements are long term agreements with EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN), a renewable energy producer specializing in wind, hydro, biomass, and solar power plants; and Sechilienne-Sidec, a renewable energy producer specializing in thermal, wind, and solar power plants.
As part of the new contract volumes announced, First Solar and the Juwi Group have also agreed to increase volumes under an existing long term supply agreement. These customers are targeting development of solar projects with First Solar modules in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal. Also included in the new agreements is a long term agreement with RIO Energie GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture of the Stadtwerke Mainz AG utility company and the Juwi Group with a focus on the development of solar power plants in the utility service region of the Stadtwerke Mainz AG and its subsidiaries through 2012. These new long term agreements are structured on terms similar to First Solar’s existing long term supply contracts.
Also included in the new sales contracts announced by First Solar is a multi-year agreement with SunEdison, LLC, a leading provider of solar generated electricity to commercial, municipal, and utility customers in North America. SunEdison will deploy First Solar modules in Ontario, Canada, which has adopted a feed-in tariff for solar energy.
First Solar also announced that its board of directors has approved the construction of an additional manufacturing plant in Malaysia with an annual production nameplate rating of 120MW, representing an investment of approximately $150 million. The additional production capacity of the new plant is scheduled to come on line in the first half of 2009.
