First Solar Finalizes $857 Million Sale of 2024 Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits

First Solar Announces Final Sale Amount of 2024 Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has revealed the final sale amount of the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production tax credits generated by the production and sale of solar modules in the United States for 2024. This transaction was initially announced on December 11, 2024. The total sale amount of $857 million in tax credits resulted from two separate Tax Credit Transfer Agreements disclosed in December 2024. A third party agreed to pay First Solar $0.955 for every $1.00 of tax credits.

The agreements included a fixed transaction of $645 million in tax credits, which was paid in two installments on December 6 and December 30, 2024. An additional variable transaction amounting to $212 million in tax credits is expected to be finalized by February 28, 2025. Once completed, First Solar anticipates receiving gross cash proceeds of approximately $819 million.

Mark Widmar, the CEO of First Solar, commented, “This is a case of the Section 45X tax credits working exactly as they were intended, creating and retaining billions in economic value in our country and supporting tens of thousands of American jobs.” He emphasized that the value of these tax credits is directly linked to the volume of solar panels produced at their facilities in Ohio and Alabama, marking the highest production levels in the U.S. since the company began manufacturing in 2002.

Alex Bradley, CFO of First Solar, stated, “This transaction strengthens our balance sheet even as we continue to invest in our U.S. manufacturing capacity and research and development infrastructure, which are crucial to our growth.” For the financial year 2024, the company expects a pre-tax impact on earnings of about $39 million and a post-tax impact of approximately $45 million, which will result in a reduction of diluted earnings by around $0.42 per share for the year.

The tax credits are derived from the sale of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules manufactured in 2024 at First Solar’s operational facilities in the U.S., which include three factories in Ohio and a new facility in Alabama. These fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing plants produce thin film wafers, cells, and modules in a single continuous process, transforming a sheet of glass into a fully operational solar panel in roughly four hours.

Having operated in the U.S. since 2002, First Solar stands as the country’s leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company, and it is the only one among the largest solar manufacturers worldwide that is headquartered in the U.S. Currently, First Solar is the largest solar manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere and is on track to achieve an annual domestic energy technology manufacturing capacity of 14 gigawatts by 2026. This expansion is expected to support over 30,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, generating nearly $2.8 billion in labor income, according to a study commissioned by First Solar from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Each factory employs over 800 people, with an average manufacturing salary of $80,000 annually.

First Solar’s operations also benefit and support thousands of workers throughout the nation, including soda ash miners in Wyoming, silica miners in Michigan, copper miners in Utah, steelworkers in Alabama, Louisiana, and Ohio, glass workers in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, woodworkers in Indiana, and a widespread network of truckers, railroad workers, and many others.

About First Solar, Inc.

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) is America’s leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. As the only U.S.-headquartered company among the world’s largest solar manufacturers, First Solar is committed to competitively and reliably meeting power generation needs with its advanced, uniquely American thin film PV technology. Developed in R&D labs in California and Ohio, the company’s technology represents the next generation of solar power, providing a competitive, high-performance, and responsibly produced alternative to traditional crystalline silicon PV modules.

For more information, please visit www.firstsolar.com.

For First Solar Investors

This press release contains various “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include predictions about the completion and timing of the sale of tax credits, expected cash proceeds, and anticipated impacts on earnings and job creation.

Forward-looking statements are just predictions based on current expectations and projections about future events, speaking only as of the date of this release. Readers are advised not to place undue reliance on these statements. First Solar does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements for any reason. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed.

This press release also references data from an economic study conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The study is based on numerous assumptions and estimates, further detailed in the report available at www.firstsolar.com/USeconomy.