Company backs enforcement to enable a level playing field for American solar manufacturing, workers

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) ("First Solar" or "the Company") today voiced strong support for the Trump Administration’s action on imports of polysilicon and its derivatives under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, a move aimed at loosening China's grip on a critical supply chain.

Polysilicon is a foundational input for crystalline silicon solar modules, and Chinese producers control more than 90 percent of the global supply, a concentration that is itself a security risk. That control has given a single government outsized sway over the cost and availability of the material and its derivatives, created opaque supply chains that carry forced labor exposure, and enabled anti-competitive measures at a cost to American solar manufacturers and their workers.

“First Solar strongly commends the Trump Administration's Section 232 national security action on polysilicon and its derivatives, one of the most strategically significant trade measures in decades,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “For years, China-linked supply chains dumped below cost and circumvented US laws to undercut American workers and their livelihoods, while creating a strategic vulnerability. This action closes that loophole, and it is built to be enforced, with a minimum import price, an ad valorem tariff behind it, and real consequences for violators. That is the fair shot at a level playing field that American manufacturers and workers have earned.”

Widmar said, “As we built the largest solar manufacturing and supply chain footprint in the country, we've long argued that how and where solar technology is made matters, and the Administration's actions recognize that. In particular, the incentive structure, coupled with a hard-to-game framework, is a clear signal that the Administration is committed to ending America's dependence on China for critical solar energy technology and building the jobs, investment, and manufacturing capacity to match.”

First Solar operates the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere with five operational manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Ohio, and a sixth plant under construction in South Carolina, the first phase of which is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2026. By the end of 2026, the Company expects to have invested over $5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019, and by 2027 it forecasts approximately 17 gigawatts (GW) of US module manufacturing capacity, none of which has any dependence on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains.

A study commissioned by First Solar and conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, released earlier this year, estimated that the Company supported nearly 30,000 American jobs and $3.0 billion in labor income in 2025, while contributing approximately $5.8 billion to US gross domestic product (GDP). The analysis projects that by 2027 the Company will support more than 39,000 jobs and $4.0 billion in labor income and contribute approximately $7.8 billion to US GDP.

About First Solar, Inc.

First Solar, Inc. is America's leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. The only US-headquartered company among the world's largest solar manufacturers, First Solar is focused on competitively and reliably enabling power generation needs with its advanced, uniquely American thin film PV technology. Developed at research and development (R&D) labs in California and Ohio, the Company's technology represents the next generation of solar power generation, providing a competitive, high-performance, and responsibly produced alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV modules. For more information, please visit www.firstsolar.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains various “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, but are not limited to, statements concerning: (i) plans to establish a new production facility in South Carolina; (ii) expectations that the first phase of the facility will begin production in the second half of 2026; (iii) expectations that First Solar will have a total US nameplate capacity of approximately 17 GW by 2027; and (iv) our expectation that First Solar will have invested over $5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure from 2019 to 2026. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “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 First Solar’s current expectations and First Solar’s projections about future events and therefore speak only as of the date of this release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. First Solar undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause First Solar’s 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 results of our investigation of potential infringers, the costs and other impacts arising from any subsequent litigation, the results of which are unpredictable; the validity and scope of claims relating to the patents; the potential for companies to develop and patent technology designed to exclude our patented technology; and the matters discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of First Solar’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by First Solar’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This press release contains references to data and information generated by economic studies conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and commissioned by the Iberia Economic Development Authority and First Solar. The study commissioned by First Solar is based on numerous assumptions, estimates and other data as more fully described in the report summarizing the study’s findings, which is available at www.firstsolar.com/USeconomy.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806572170/en/