businessbriefs
10:16in productionCh. 1 · The 1999 pivot/ 10:16 · ceiling 15 min
Companies · Product

First Solar

Harold McMaster · 1999

First Solar isn’t betting on solar’s future — it’s betting the U.S. government will keep paying for its specific kind of solar.

First Solar is a U.S. solar panel manufacturer that builds cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film modules in domestic factories. It was founded in 1990 as Solar Cells, Inc. by Harold McMaster, acquired and rebranded in 1999, and went public in 2006. Its technology diverges from mainstream silicon PV. As of March 2026, it had ~14 GW of annual domestic nameplate capacity across facilities in Ohio, Alabama, and Louisiana. It does not produce silicon panels, does not operate overseas factories, and does not integrate storage or software.

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Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:08
    The 1999 pivot

    First Solar began as Solar Cells, Inc. — a Harold McMaster venture in Toledo — and became First Solar only after True North Partners acquired it in 1999.

  2. 2:40
    CdTe, not silicon

    It manufactures rigid CdTe thin-film modules — a distinct technical path that made it the industry leader in thin-film PV before going public.

  3. 4:30
    Made in America, at scale

    All its manufacturing is domestic: three plants in Ohio, plus one each in Alabama and Louisiana — totalling ~14 GW annual nameplate capacity by March 2026.

  4. 6:16
    Hardware before hype

    It went public in 2006, but its foundational hardware — the prototype production machine — was built by 1997, years before the rebrand or IPO.

Worth your time?

Yes. Study the whole thing.

4/ 5
What works
  • CdTe thin-film scalability
  • U.S.-based vertical integration
  • policy-aligned capital deployment
What does not
  • silicon-based panels
  • overseas manufacturing
  • energy storage integration
  • software platform development
Study it if
  • policy analysts
  • manufacturing strategists
  • renewables procurement teams
Skip it if
  • consumer tech investors
  • AI infrastructure buyers
  • battery developers
The written brief1 min read

What the company or idea is

First Solar is a U.S.-based solar panel manufacturer founded as Solar Cells, Inc. in 1990 by Harold McMaster, rebranded in 1999 after acquisition by True North Partners, and publicly traded since 2006.

How it actually makes money

First Solar makes money by manufacturing and selling cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar panels from U.S. factories in Ohio, Alabama, and Louisiana.

What works

Its CdTe thin-film process enables high-volume, low-cost module production in the U.S., achieving ~14 GW annual domestic nameplate capacity by March 2026.

What does not

It does not make silicon-based panels, does not rely on overseas supply chains for its core modules, and does not claim or demonstrate leadership in energy storage, software, or system integration.

What to take from it

Its CdTe thin-film technology is a deliberate divergence from mainstream silicon PV — a bet on lower material cost and domestic manufacturability, not efficiency or versatility.

Is it worth your time

Yes — it is one of the few vertically integrated solar manufacturers with domestic scale, but its business model depends entirely on policy-driven demand and commodity input costs outside its control.

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