Presentation on Thin Film PV

Maja Wessels
Executive Vice-President
December 2009
 Forward Looking Statements

This presentation contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking
statements in this presentation do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those
statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially,
including risks associated with the company's business involving the company's products, their
development and distribution, economic and competitive factors and the company's key strategic
relationships, and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. First Solar assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information
contained in this presentation or with respect to the announcements described herein.

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 2

Contents

Company Overview

PV – Historical Development and Outlook

Technology & Product

Environmental Responsibility

Cost and Cost Reduction

Attributes and Advantages of TF PV

References and Examples

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 3

Sustainability is industry mandate

Solar is a key component in addressing global climate change: all
technologies are required

Objective:lower worldwide carbon levels and improve security of supply

Must evaluate total impact to the environment: supply, manufacturing,
deployment, operations, recycling

Module and Balance of Plant cost per watt driven by ongoing
improvements in technology, manufacturing and system design

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 4

Company Overview
First Solar Company Overview
Strategic Objective
To create enduring value by enabling a world powered by clean, affordable solar
electricity.

Reduce the cost of solar modules using

thin film technology and automated,
scalable production

Migrate from subsidized markets to
non-subsidized markets by leveraging
economies of scale — become
“subsidy independent”

Reduce dependence on fossil fuels and
curtail greenhouse gas emissions to
improve our environment
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 6
First Solar: Clean, Affordable Solar Electricity

Founded in 1999, a market leader in Proven performance and reliability

utility scale commercial and industrial  10 year track record
PV systems  >1 GW of annual production in
2009

World’s lowest cost solar module Bankability of projects

manufacturer $  >1 Giga Watt (GW) of projects
 $0.85/W (as of Q3 09) financed and in the ground
 Aggressive cost reduction roadmap  Consistent performance and
 Sustainable competitive advantage execution attract investment

Environmental leadership
 Lowest carbon footprint Financial strength
 Fastest energy payback time of $  $12 billion market capitalization
current PV technologies (<1 year)  Added to S&P 500 in October 2009
 PV industry’s first and only pre-
funded collection and recycling
program
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 7
Global Presence
Amsterdam, Holland Berlin, Germany
Business Development Government Affairs Frankfurt Oder,
Germany
Manufacturing
Ontario, Canada
Project Development

Brussels, Belgium
Government Affairs
Perrysburg, Ohio
Operations, R&D
and Manufacturing Paris, France
Sales & Marketing
Hayward, California
Project Development Madrid, Spain
Sales & Marketing

Tempe, Arizona
Corporate Headquarters

Bridgewater, New Jersey

Project Development
Kulim, Malaysia
Manufacturing
Mainz, Germany
New York, New York Sales, Marketing &
Legal, Government & Customer Service
Public Affairs, Marketing

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 8

Bankable Performance

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 9

PV – Historical Development and Outlook
Historical development of global cumulative PV power installed per region

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. Source: EPIA Global Market Outlook 2013 11
Global annual PV market Outlook until 2013

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. Source: EPIA Global Market Outlook 2013 12
EU installed capacity by 2020 will range from 130 GWp Baseline to 390 GWp Paradigm Shift scenario

PV deployment scenarios (TWh of electricity produced; GWp installed1))

Baseline Scenario Accelerated Growth Scenario Paradigm Shift scenario

462

TWh

Cumulative
GWp 230

154
164
99
80

36 38 43
5 5 5
2007 2012 2016 2020 2007 2012 2016 2020 2007 2012 2016 2020
55 30
30 70
70 130
130 55 30
30 85
85 195
195 55 35
35 140
140 390
390
~4% of PV penetration on electricity ~6% of PV penetration on electricity ~12% of PV penetration on electricity
demand by 2020 demand by 2020 demand by 2020
1) The underlying geographical deployment results in an average European figure of 1,167 operating hours for scenarios 1 and 2 and 1,187 for scenario 3

Sources: EPIA, EU DG TREN “European Energy and Transport: trends to 2030, update 2007”,
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. EU JRC Photovoltaic Geographical Information System, Eurostat Data Portal, A.T. Kearney SET for 2020 analysis 13
Technology & Product
The First Solar Solution
Module Manufacturing
Glass In  2.5 Hours  Module Out

Breakthrough thin film process technology

99% reduction in high-cost semiconductor material

Fully integrated, continuous process vs. batch processing

No shortages of semiconductor material

Cost reduction trajectory driven by productivity and
technology improvements

Large (2'x4') substrate vs. 6" wafers

System Solutions (U.S.)

First Solar specializes in utility-scale PV systems

Engineering, procurement and construction capabilities provide turnkey
solution

Monitoring & Maintenance (M&M) Program

Fixed M&M pricing enables predictable annual expenses

First Solar monitors and maintains the PV system over its life
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 15
Superior Technology
First Solar's validated performance

Over 4.0 GW / $6.3 billion currently contracted with
leading developers of large scale PV projects

Extensive module testing and validation before
commercial production

Durable and recyclable frameless glass-glass laminate

High energy yield in real operating conditions (PR>80%)

Low temperature coefficient (-0.25%/°C)

Excellent low light response

Robust against shading in landscape orientation
(perpendicular to cells)

25 year module power output warranty

Minimal O&M expenses – no moving parts, fuel or water
requirements

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 16

Products & Performance
Proven Record of Increasing Module Conversion Efficiencies
Modules Produced

Conversion Efficiency

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 17

Conversion Efficiency Potential

18%
Practical Potential
15.3%
Research ~2014
13.5%
Development ~2012
12.5%
Process Integration
10.9% Q109
Current Production

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 18

Proven Field Performance

First Solar provides energy yield predictions to establish system performance expectations

First Solar monitors installed modules in a wide range of systems to ensure field performance continues to meet
predicted expectations

First Solar's monitored systems have demonstrated actual performance with a +/- 3.5% deviation from predicted
performance
Monitored Commercial Product Installations (Annual Energy vs P50 Prediction)

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 19

Environmental Responsibility
Environmental Responsibility
First Solar's Environmental Commitment

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 21

Life Cycle Assessment Benefits
Carbon Footprint – Comparison Across Technologies

1000 900
850
800
Carbon footprint
(g CO2 -eq/kWh)

600
400
400

200
45 25 24 15 11
0
Coal Oil Gas CC Biomass CHP PV multi-Si Nuclear (US) PV CdTe Wind
(13.2%)* (10.7%)**

Sources: *de Wild-Scholten, M., presented at CrystalClear Final Event in Munich on May 26, 2009. **de Wild-Scholten, M.,
‘Solar as an environmental product: Thin-film modules – production processes and their environmental assessment,’
presented at the Thin Film Industry Forum, Berlin, April, 2009. Both PV technologies use insolation of 1700 kWh/m2. All
other data from ExternE project, 2003; Kim and Dale, 2005; Fthenakis and Kim, 2006: Fthenakis and Alsema, 2006; Fthenakis
and Kim, in press.
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 22
A Cradle-to-Cradle Technology

Developers
Developers
CdTe
CdTe & System
& System
Integrators
Integrators
Glass
FS Series
Cd
Cd Te
Te 2 Module

FS Customer Site
Recycling

FS Collection 25+ years

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 23
Cost and Cost Reduction
Cost Reductions Achieved Through Scale
1,200 MW

716 MW

$0.85
308 MW

∼100 MW
10 MW 25 MW
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 25

New Module MFG Cost Reduction Roadmap
$1.29/W
$0.93/W
100% 18-25%

4-6%

4-6%
3-4% $0.52 - 0.63/W
2%
56-68%

Q1 07 Q1 09 Efficiency Throughput Spending Low Cost Plant Scale 2014

Cost/Watt Cost/Watt Location Cost/Watt
Target 26
© 2009 First Solar, Inc.
New Roadmap to Grid Parity
Balance of System* Cost Reduction Roadmap

~$1.40 /W
100% 2%
8%
7% $0.91-0.98/W
1% 12% Target
65-70%

Q1’09 BOS Engr. , Mounting Inverter Other Installation 2014 BOS

Proj. Mgmt. Hardware Transformer Electrical
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. * Excludes Site Specific costs, BOS profits, sales tax, finance costs, SG&A costs and project development costs and assumes optimal labor. costs 27
LCOE – Transition to Sustainable Markets

Note: Assumes 7.5% unlevered IRR, 10% ITC, 2.5% electricity power price escalator, FSLR panels, utility scale plant, install labor and site specific cost estimates.
Includes owner development costs, financing costs and O&M. USD € rate 1,45
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 28
Attributes and Advantages of TF PV

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 29

Attributes and advantages of thin film PV
Performance & sustainability

No use of water, gas or oil during operations

No concrete used

(Nearly) maintenance free (no moving parts)

No emissions or waste created during operation

Low carbon footprint

Low sensitivity to dust, humidity and strong winds

No geographical restriction due to quality of radiation: can work with global
radiation and has low sensitivity to diffuse light

Highly reliable, simple system with few components

Easy to recycle

Recycling and reuse of 90% module weight and 95% of semiconductor (for FS)

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 30

Attributes and advantages of thin film PV
Project development and installation

Short project development and construction time (1 MW/day)

Highly modular and flexible construction:
- Parallel development of several sub-plants possible
- Flexibility of scaling and gradual expansion of system and transmission lines
- Easier grid connection which can increase proximity to consumers

Most topographies possible – does not require flat land

Simple, fixed installation: no moving parts

No gas pipelines nor water infrastructure required

Little need for spare/wear parts and therefore no warehouse required

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 31

Attributes and advantages of thin film PV
Financing

Modularity allows incremental financing

High fixed, low variable cost investment almost entirely capital related with very low
operating and maintenance cost and a pre-funded end-of-life treatment (modules)

Module costs decreasing rapidly

No commodity price risks once the system operates (high hedging value and high life
cycle cost predictability)

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 32

Example: Development and Construction of 20 MW Sarnia
Substantial completion in a couple of weeks

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 33

Array Structure
Component Descriptions – MOUNTING STRUCTURE

Module Support Rail

30 Deg Tilt Bracket

W6 x 8.5 Post

Horizontal Beam

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 34

Array Structure
Component Descriptions – PV MODULES & CLIPS
FS Series 2 Module

Module Mid Clip

Module End Clip

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 35

Sarnia 20: August 21

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 36

Sarnia 20: September 9

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 37

Sarnia 20: October 5

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 38

Sarnia 20: October 16

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 39

Sarnia 20: November 16

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 40

Reference Projects in EU, MENA & US

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 41

 El Dorado PV Power Plant
Engineering, Procurement, and Construction – Ground Mount

• Constructed next to existing natural gas plant

• Constructed in less than 5 months - 137 days
• 48 MW expansion to begin in 2009

Site: Nevada, USA

System Size: 10 MW (AC)
Completed: December 2008
System Purchaser: Sempra Generation

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 42

Reference Projects
Ground Mounted

Site: MASDAR , Abu Dhabi, UAE Site: El Dorado, NV, USA

System Size: 12 MW (DC) System Size: 10 MW (AC)
Completed: June 2009 Completed: December 2008
System System
Enviromena Sempra Generation
Developer: Purchaser:

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 43

Reference Projects
Ground Mounted
System Size: 40 MW
Site: Brandis, Germany
Irradiance: 1020 kWh/m2
Date Commissioned: December 2008
Project Developer: Juwi
Operator: Solar Fund
System Owner / Solar Fund
Investor:
Module Type: FS-265, FS-267, FS-270
Inverter: SMA SC1000 MV
Performance Ratio: 82.5% (predicted)
Annual Energy Yield: 40 million kWh (predicted)

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 44

Reference Projects
Ground Mounted
Site: Lieberose
former military training area
Turnow-Preilack, Germany
System Size: 53MW
approx. 52 million kWh
Annual Energy Yield:
(projected)
Project Developer: Juwi Solar GmbH
Number of modules: approx. 700,000
Module Type: FS 272-277
Inverter: SMA SC1250 MW
SMA SC 900 MV

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 45

 Project Profiles
Module Supply – Ground Mount

Site: Rote Jahne, Germany Site: Narbonne, France Site: Bullas, Spain
System Size: 6 MW System Size: 7 MW System Size: 5 MW
Project Project Project
juwi Solar EDF Energies Nouvelles Gehrlicher Solar
Developer: Developer: Developer:

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 46

Ordos City (China) MOU for 2 GW AC Solar PV Plant
• Chinese government expanding use of renewable energy
– Potential goal of 20 GW by 2020
– Feed-in-tariff expected
• MOU signed in presence of Chairman Wu
– Agreement with Ordos City to provide 2 GW PV system
– Phase 1: 30 MW starting June 1, 2010
Mike Ahearn welcomes Chairman Wu Bangguo
of the Standing Committee of the National – Phase 2 and 3 : 100 MW and 870 MW by 2014
People's Congress of China to First Solar – Phase 4: 1,000 MW by 2019

Site: Ordos City, Inner Mongolia

Cao Zhichen, vice mayor of Ordos Municipal
Size: 2 GW (AC)
Government and Mike Ahearn sign MOU
© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 47
 Thank you

© 2009 First Solar, Inc. 48