Under the agreement, PVO will be the exclusive distributor of modules in these countries, allowing the Dutch solar energy equipment supplier to offer its customers access to responsibly-produced, eco-efficient solar technology for their ground mounted utility-scale projects in Europe.
“We are delighted with this new cooperation” says Frank Heijckmann, co-owner and commercial director of PVO International. “First Solar has been a reliable supplier of thin film modules to their European clients for nearly two decades and we are pleased to enter this partnership at a time where the market faces supply chain challenges. In addition, First Solar industry-leading thin-film solar modules are ideally suited for utility-scale PV installations, which makes this partnership a perfect fit for our expansion in this segment.”
Unique among the world’s ten largest solar manufacturers for being the only US-headquartered company, for not using a crystalline silicon (c-Si) semiconductor, and for not manufacturing in China, First Solar produces its thin film PV modules using a fully integrated, continuous process under one roof and does not rely on c-Si supply chains. The company’s eco-efficient module technology, which uses its proprietary Cadmium Telluride (CadTel) semiconductor, has the lowest carbon and water footprints of any PV module available today. First Solar owns and operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, Malaysia and Vietnam, which, when combined with its fully vertically integrated manufacturing process, results in tightly controlled, consistently manufactured, high-quality products.
The Tier 1 manufacturer’s thin-film technology offers several advantages over conventional silicon solar modules. A major advantage is the reliable long-term performance and industry-leading warranted annual degradation rate of -0.3% resulting in higher energy yields over a project’s lifetime. First Solar also has a long history of establishing benchmarks in recycling, responsible supply chain management, transparency. First Solar’s Series 6 modules are the first PV product to be included in the EPEAT register for sustainable electronics, a globally recognized and independently verified ecolabel which gives customers confidence that they are purchasing an environmentally leading product from a socially responsible company.
“We’re pleased to welcome PVO International as our official channel partner and we thank them for their trust in our high-performance, responsibly-manufactured, thin film PV modules,” said Matthew Merfert, First Solar’s head of business development for Europe. “Through this partnership our low-carbon modules will be available to growing PV markets in Europe helping to drive ambitious zero-emissions targets.”
