First Solar Enters Residential Market with Strategic Investment in Clean Energy Collective
December 10 2014 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Deal Highlights Shifting Economics to Bring Affordable Solar
Power to a Broader Market
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Clean Energy Collective
(CEC) today announced that they have formed a strategic partnership
to develop and market community solar offerings to residential
customers and businesses directly on behalf of client utilities.
Through the agreement, the two companies will jointly pursue
opportunities in the community solar market to offer an affordable
and convenient alternative to rooftop generation. As part of the
deal, First Solar has made a strategic investment in CEC and
obtained an equity interest, and First Solar’s CEO, Jim Hughes, and
Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Marc van Gerven, will join
the CEC board. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The move is an integral part of First Solar’s distributed
generation strategy, substantially strengthening the company’s
entry as a solutions provider in the residential and business solar
markets. CEC, the nation’s leading community solar provider,
pioneered the community solar model, through which a broad range of
customers have access to solar energy regardless of the suitability
of their rooftop or property ownership status. Through this
relationship, CEC will accelerate the rollout of community solar
generation aided by the efficient access to capital and innovative
hardware solutions afforded by First Solar.
“Distributed generation in the form of community solar expands
the addressable market dramatically beyond the traditional
residential or commercial sectors, and CEC has led the way in
making that happen,” said Jim Hughes, First Solar’s CEO. “This deal
is a natural fit that leverages CEC’s residential experience on the
ground with First Solar’s expertise in utility-scale generation and
panel technology. This innovative and cost-competitive approach
will further establish solar, and specifically community solar, as
a critical part of the global energy mix for all markets.”
“Community solar is affecting a major shift in the broader solar
industry,” said Paul Spencer, Founder and CEO of Clean Energy
Collective. “Joining forces with First Solar further validates
community solar and provides us the opportunity jointly to
accelerate this shift with the combined power of our proven model
and the economics and efficiency of First Solar as a world-class
R&D, manufacturing and construction partner. This collaboration
will allow us to accelerate our expansion to new markets and
customers, and will provide both customers and our utility partners
with the added confidence that CEC and our community solar projects
will deliver long-term, scalable energy solutions at the most
cost-effective pricing.”
Community solar utilizes sizable ground-mounted installations
that provide clean energy to a utility’s grid, and allows consumers
the ability to buy into a specific community installation and
directly benefit from the solar power generated by that resource.
This allows any power consumer to “go solar,” including those who
live in multi-tenant buildings, rent, or whose rooftops cannot
accommodate solar panels. Community solar significantly expands the
addressable market beyond solutions limited to rooftop only,
especially in urban residential settings.
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Clean Energy Collective, LLC
Clean Energy Collective (CEC) is the nation’s leading developer
of community solar solutions. CEC pioneered the model of delivering
clean power generation through large-scale solar PV facilities
accessible to all utility customers. Since establishing the first
community-owned solar garden in the country in 2010 near El Jebel,
Colorado, CEC has built or has under development more than 40
community solar projects with 18 utility partners across 8 states,
representing 36 MW of community solar capacity.
www.easycleanenergy.com
First Solar, Inc.
First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive
photovoltaic (PV) solar systems which use its advanced module and
system technology. The company’s integrated power plant solutions
deliver an economically attractive alternative to fossil-fuel
electricity generation today. From raw material sourcing through
end-of-life module recycling, First Solar’s renewable energy
systems protect and enhance the environment. For more information
about First Solar, please visit www.firstsolar.com.
For First Solar Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made
pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements
include statements, among other things, concerning: our business
strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and
management plans for our business and the markets in which we
operate; future financial results, operating results, revenues,
gross margin, operating expenses, products, projected costs,
warranties, solar module efficiency and balance of systems ("BoS")
cost reduction roadmaps, restructuring, product reliability and
capital expenditures; our ability to continue to reduce the cost
per watt of our solar modules; our ability to reduce the costs to
construct photovoltaic ("PV") solar power systems; research and
development programs and our ability to improve the conversion
efficiency of our solar modules; sales and marketing initiatives;
and competition. These forward-looking statements are often
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"anticipate," "project," "plan," "intend," "believe," "forecast,"
"foresee," "likely," "may," "should," "goal," "target," "might,"
"will," "could," "predict," "continue" and the negative or plural
of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking
statements are only predictions based on our current expectations
and our projections about future events. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no
obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for
any reason. These forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our
actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by these
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the
matters discussed in Item 1A: "Risk Factors," of our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other reports
filed with the SEC.
First Solar MediaSteve Krum+1
602-427-3359steve.krum@firstsolar.comorFirst Solar InvestorsDavid
Brady+1 602-414-9315dbrady@firstsolar.comorStephen Haymore+1
602-414-9315stephen.haymore@firstsolar.comorClean Energy Collective
(CEC) MediaTim Braun+ 1 970-618-0080tbraun@b2inc.net
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