First Solar CEO Mark Widmar, releasing First Solar Sustainability Report 2024, says its differentiated approach to manufacturing and sourcing sets it apart from the rest of the industry.
“We remain the only major solar manufacturer to have not just conducted independent third-party, on-site social audits across its global manufacturing footprint in 2023, but also to have achieved the highest possible rating,” Mark Widmar said.
Since 2020, First Solar reduced energy usage per watt produced by 15 percent and is halfway toward meeting 2028 energy efficiency target.
In 2023, First Solar installed a 300kW PV carport array in Ohio and consumed more than 7.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable electricity from onsite solar installations globally.
Since 2020, First Solar reduced manufacturing water intensity by 48 percent.
In 2023, manufacturing water intensity decreased by 6 percent compared to 2022, due to increased water recycling initiatives.
First Solar recycled 318 million liters of water in 2023, an 88 percent increase in water recycling compared to 2022.
Since 2020, First Solar doubled production capacity which has resulted in a 57 percent increase in absolute scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
While scope 3 emissions per MW from purchased goods and services decreased by 3 percent compared to 2020, scope 3 increased by 16 percent per MW when including capital goods and fuel- and energy-related activities. 87 percent of waste was diverted from disposal in 2023 through recycling, reuse, and recovery.
In 2023, global recycling facilities achieved an average PV module material recovery rate of 95 percent. First Solar set science-based targets to reduce our absolute scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions by 34 percent by 2028 and achieve Net-Zero GHG emissions by 2050, relative to 2020.
First Solar’s near-term science-based emissions reduction target and net-zero target are in line with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
As scope 3 value chain emissions account for more than 80 percent of our total emissions, First Solar set a target to reduce our scope 3 GHG emissions intensity from purchased goods and services by 45 percent per MW produced by 2028, relative to 2020.
By 2050, First Solar aims to reduce our scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, capital goods, and fuel- and energy-related activities by 97 percent per MW produced, relative to 2020.
In 2023, First Solar became the first of the world’s largest solar manufacturers to have our net-zero target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Since 2020, we doubled our production and are on track to almost quadruple our production through 2026.
The addition of new manufacturing plants in India and the United States has resulted in a 57 percent increase in absolute scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions since 2020.
First Solar is committed to driving down carbon footprint and enabling renewable energy procurement in Malaysia and Vietnam. In 2020, First Solar joined RE100 and set an ambitious target to achieve 100 percent renewable energy across our global operations by 2028.
First Solar, as part of its renewable energy strategy, is investigating opportunities to procure offsite renewable electricity, install PV rooftop and carport arrays, and purchase bundled renewable energy credits (RECs).
The residual 5 percent scope 1 emissions can be neutralized with high quality carbon offsets to get to net-zero, in accordance with the SBTi’s NetZero Standards.
First Solar has installed onsite PV installations at our production sites in Ohio, Malaysia, Vietnam, and at our recycling facility in Frankfurt Oder, Germany, which generated approximately 7.5 million kWh of solar electricity globally.
First Solar installed a 300kW PV carport array which began operating in 2023 at second manufacturing facility in Ohio, and installed carports at facilities in Vietnam and Malaysia.
In 2024, First Solar secured a 15-year power purchase agreement with Cleantech Solar to cover approximately 70 percent of our power needs in India.
In 2023, First Solar produced 12.1 GW of solar modules, representing a 33 percent increase in production over 2022.