Talk:First Solar

message: I removed the offending sentence after glancing at the reference it points to. The reference clearly relates the environmental impact of these cells with NiCd batteries and coal emissions, not other solar technologies.
On another matter, this article reads like something the company wrote, and should probably be tagged an advertisement.
ad —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.45.136.66 (talk) 15:27, 10 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Not the most environmentally friendly 

message: Hi again, MartinezMD—it's taken me a little while to do some research and start working on the article, but I've pulled together what I think is a pretty good replacement for the introduction. I've posted it up in my user space (both as display text and a nowiki version). As you'll see, it retains information about what makes First Solar's business unique and interesting, doing so in a straightforward, matter-of-fact manner. The fact is their getting below $1-per-watt was very remarkable, as coverage at the time shows. Meanwhile I've streamlined the company's founding and history info, and was a little more selective on awards to list. Importantly, knowing that the lead section should reflect the contents of the article to follow, it primarily addresses material that's in the article later. A few details may not be present later in the current article, but should probably be added soon. Let me know if you agree this is an improvement. Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 20:36, 26 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Hi there, MrsEcoGreen. If you see the link in my note above, I've written a revised version of the introductory section that is a replacement for the introduction. Because I've gotten involved at First Solar's behest, one of my goals here is to talk about substantial changes before actually implementing them. As you can see a bit further above, I've been talking with another editor about fixing this page such that it no longer reads like an advertisement. If you'd like to help, I'd appreciate it greatly. Let me know what you think about the new intro when you have a moment. Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 21:05, 27 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Just got my internet service back after a week. I like the changes you've proposed on your page and I just made the swap.MartinezMD (talk) 23:26, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

text: I think between the revised intro and the changes MrsEcoGreen made we can removed the banner tag. If anyone thinks otherwise we can revert and continue the discussion. I still believe the installations section needs some revision but not enough to warrant a tag.MartinezMD (talk) 23:28, 27 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Agree -- think there are a few places where more refs are needed, but agree with removing the the flag. --MrsEcoGreen (talk) 00:09, 28 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Hey, thank you both for taking the initiative here. And I agree the article still needs more work; I'll see what I can do about improvements to installations and additional citations. Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 19:22, 28 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Introduction

message: There's a well known lawsuit including the merger of Solar Cell and True North that should at least be mentioned. (Solar Cells, Inc. v. True North Partners, LLC). It's discussed in law textbooks to emphasize the duty of good faith in a LLC.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.192.6.73 (talk) 08:37, 13 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Famous lawsuit

message: Another lawsuit is active now: Smilovitz v. First Solar.  Copy of the lawsuit is given at: 
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/10773619/mark-smilovits-et-al-v-first-solar-inc-securities-class-action-
The notice sent to prospective class members is given at: http://www.gilardi.com/FIRSTSLR/pdf/v2_FIRSTSLR_Notice_121613_FINAL.pdf
The complaint allege that First Solar made false and misleading statements during the class period 4/30/2008 - 2/28/2012 damaging all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded common shares of First Solar, Inc. The claims include:
"During the Class Period, defendants engaged in a plan, scheme, conspiracy and course of conduct, pursuant to which they  knowingly or recklessly engaged in acts, transactions, practices and courses of business which operated as a fraud and deceit upon Plaintiff and the other members of the Class; made various untrue statements of material facts and omitted to state material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and employed devices, schemes and artifices to defraud in connection with the purchase and sale of securities. Such scheme was intended to, and, throughout the Class Period, did: (i) 2 deceive the investing public, including Plaintiff and other Class members, as alleged 3 herein; (ii) artificially inflate and maintain the market price of First Solar securities; and 4 (iii) cause Plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase First Solar securities and 5 options at artificially inflated prices. In furtherance of this unlawful scheme, plan and 6 course of conduct, defendants, and each of them, took the actions set forth herein."  The lawsuit goes on to lay out in detail each of the related claims.  Danleywolfe (talk) 19:13, 3 February 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  2012-2013 Class Lawsuit - Smilovits v.. First Solar, Inc. 

message: This section appears to be partial with no valid references. Certain statements about donations from the Waltons to anti-environment politicians are not based on facts and are contrary to public records of the Waltons financial donations.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.119.214.77 (talk) 15:55, 19 May 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: I removed the section. It might have a place in an article about resistance to solar power or similar, but not in one about one solar power company. I add the text below and hope that somebody can find a home for it. 
Allegations of undermining rooftop solar
A new study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) finds that the Walton family is funding nearly two dozen anti-solar groups — such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and Americans for Prosperity, which are waging state and national fights to roll back clean energy policies — while a Walton-owned energy company is pushing for regulations that hinder the growth of rooftop solar power.
Rooftop solar has been cited as a tremendous opportunity to accelerate the transition to renewable power, save money for homeowners, and create tens of thousands of new jobs, but, as the report details, the Waltons’ interventions and spending are a very real threat to this future.http://other98.com/walmart-heirs-spending-millions-defeat-clean-energy/
Last year, ILSR found that since Walmart launched its environmental campaign in 2005, the company’s self-reported greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 14 percent. Instead of investing in efforts to reduce carbon pollution, Walmart continues to support lawmakers who deny global warming. ILSR’s 2013 report finds that both Walmart’s and the Walton family’s political donations heavily favor lawmakers who voted to keep subsidies for oil companies and prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.http://www.ilsr.org/walton-report/
FirstSolar's John Hughes argued in a 2013 Arizona Republic opinion piece that rooftop solar should not automatically be able to sell electricity back to the grid without paying equitably for the grid infrastructure.http://archive.azcentral.com/opinions/articles/20130531solar-power-guidelines-should-fair-all.html Three months later FirstSolar filed comments with the Arizona Corporation Commission similarly arguing that utility-scale solar was being treated unfairly, partly due to subsidies being given asymmetrically to roof-top solar. ACC then planned a new fee for rooftop PV owners who participate in net metering, as proposed by utility Arizona Public Service (APS). The new proposal would have raised rooftop solar installations fees from $5 to $21 per month, saving other APS customers $0.23 per month instead of costing them more. APS claims the real cost of rooftop solar to the grid infrastructure is $68 per month. The proposal has been placed on hold by an ACC judge.http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/energy-inc/2015/08/acc-judge-kicks-aps-proposed-solar-fee-hike-down.html
Sjö (talk) 12:17, 7 May 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Undermining Solar Power? 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
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*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090623031813/http://social.thinfilmtoday.com:80/news/thin-film-solar-park-trier-connected-grid to http://social.thinfilmtoday.com/news/thin-film-solar-park-trier-connected-grid
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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on First Solar. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20110509034928/http://solarfeeds.com:80/ecoseed/16743-first-solar-profit-drops-on-european-uncertainty-fslr- to http://www.solarfeeds.com/ecoseed/16743-first-solar-profit-drops-on-european-uncertainty-fslr-
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thread_title:  External links modified 

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*Added archive http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516040556/http://sunpluggers.com/news/first-solar-planning-new-us-plant-would-add-600-manufacturing-jobs-01025 to http://sunpluggers.com/news/first-solar-planning-new-us-plant-would-add-600-manufacturing-jobs-01025
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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: There were some news (and ample stock exchange swings) in the last few days:
* https://www.reuters.com/article/first-solar-investment/first-solar-to-build-new-us-panel-factory-in-win-for-trump-idUSL1N1S32MN
* https://renewablesnow.com/news/first-solar-lifts-q1-net-profit-series-6-demand-is-strong-610731/
Once the situation gets stable, some of this could be incorporated in the article. It would be also an occasion to update certain numbers from 2015 to 2017, although I'm not sure how important it is, for instance, to keep a table of production capacity over time. --Nemo 09:37, 2 May 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  USA market 

message: I'm surprised there is no mention of solar leasing in the article. Some consider FirstSolar to have taken up the torch from SolarCity after the latter reduced its door to door sales of solar leasing products. Some research is needed. The first search results date back to 2013. --Nemo 09:40, 2 May 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Solar leasing 

message: Here's the latest Form 10-K on file at the SEC. 
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1274494/000127449423000002/fslr-20221231.htm
Nbauman (talk) 15:03, 26 September 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: P.S. According to the Consolidated Financial Statements, under "Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules," they had a loss of $44 million in 2022, which isn't unusual for a venture technology company.  Nbauman (talk) 15:23, 26 September 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Form 10-K 2022 

message: Here's the NYT story, which has some independent comments on the company. As they say, it's a competitive business with lots of risks, but they are expanding their sales and the US government is committed to supporting domestic manufacture. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/business/energy-environment/first-solar-panels-biden-ira.html
Can the U.S. Make Solar Panels? This Company Thinks So.
First Solar kept producing them in Ohio after most of the industry moved to China. President Biden wants many more domestic manufacturers.
By Ivan Penn
New York Times
Sept. 26, 2023
Nbauman (talk) 15:17, 26 September 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  New York Times story