FIRST SOLAR WOES AND SLOWS

First Solar plant delayed further; 4th-quarter losses of $413 million put factory on hold
Ryan Randazzo, February 28, 2012 (The Republic via AZ Central)

"Facing a tough global market for solar power…First Solar Inc… lost $413 million in the fourth quarter and…[will] further delay opening its [proposed $300 million Mesa, Az,] factory…[beyond the previously announced 2013 delay to when] the market rebounds.

"The factory was expected to bring 600 jobs with its 2012 opening, and potentially many more as it increased capacity over the years…[Instead] First Solar will complete construction on the massive building as planned, move some engineering and office jobs to the Mesa location and use the space to store equipment. But it will not fire up the production lines until they are needed."

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"First Solar expects to run its existing factories in Ohio, Germany and Malaysia at just 60 to 70 percent capacity this year, amid weak demand for solar panels and a glut of panels on the global market [which the company said may require additional actions]…[A]bout 130 First Solar employees could move into the Mesa building as early as May, pending construction…[S]ome would be new hires…

"…[T]he company is evaluating options for the building while First Solar delays manufacturing…The once high-flying solar-panel maker has been struggling as its traditional markets, such as Germany, cut subsidies for solar and it transitions to new markets, such as the U.S., India and China...But new projects in those markets, particularly the U.S., have slowed down…[and new requests for solar power plants in California show a pretty steep decline…"