CIG has become aware of a recent announcement by one of the industry leaders, First Solar Inc, saying they forecast better-than-
The company CEO told analysts however that the industry would still be under pressure due to supply of photovoltaic solar modules far exceeding demand after a glut in the sector as a result of the global economic crisis over the past year.
First Solar, one of the globes largest solar module producers, and who CIG has learned has the lowest production costs in the industry is likely to influence sentiment across the renewable energy business sphere.
The firm forecast figures of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion, for 2010, higher than analysts expected $2.4 billion, research indicates.
CIG has also learned that First Solar intends spending $365 million in order to expand its existing Malaysian operations by 8 more production lines which the CEO indicated were critical to the firm’s success. This and an expected factory to be launched in France will see the company’s production capacity rise to around 1.8GW in 2012, or the equivalent in solar panels to equal the energy output of an average sized nuclear plant.
