Maja Wessels, EVP of Public Affairs for First Solar, presented at the GW Solar Institute Symposium on April 19, 2010. More information at solar.gwu.edu/Symposium.html

1. Solar PV Electricity
George Washington University Solar Institute
April 19 2010

2. Forward-Looking Statements
During the course of this presentation the company will make projections and other
statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal
securities laws. The forward-looking statements in this presentation are based on
current information and expectations, are subject to uncertainties and changes in
circumstances, and do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those
statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those statements, including the risks as described in the company’s
most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and other
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.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 2

3. Why we care about solar
Source: International Energy Agency, Energy Technology Perspectives, 2008, p. 366. The figure is based on National Petroleum Council, 2007 after Craig, Cunningham
and Saigo.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 3

4. First Solar Overview
© First Solar, Inc. 4

5. Our Mission
To create enduring value by enabling a world
powered by clean, affordable solar electricity.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 5

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 manufacturing
capacity
World’s largest and lowest cost solar Financial strength
module manufacturer  NASDAQ (FSLR)
 $0.84/W (as of Q4 09)  Added to the S&P 500 Index
 Aggressive cost reduction roadmap  Strong balance sheet
 Sustainable competitive advantage
Environmental leadership Bankability of projects
 Lowest carbon footprint and
$  >1 Giga Watt (GW) of projects
fastest energy payback time of financed and in the ground
current PV technologies  Consistent performance and
 PV industry’s first pre-funded execution attract investment
collection and recycling program
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 6

7. Company Overview
Global Presence: > 4,500 Associates
Amsterdam, Holland Berlin, Germany
Business Development Government Affairs Frankfurt Oder,
Germany
Manufacturing
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
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 7

8. Technology & Manufacturing
Fully Integrated, Automated and Continuous Thin Film Process
Glass In  < 2.5 Hours  Module Out
• 99% reduction in high-cost
semiconductor material
Semiconductor Cell Final Assembly • Fully integrated, continuous
Deposition Definition & Test process vs. batch processing
• Large 60 x 120cm (2' x 4')
substrate vs. 6" wafers
Conventional Crystalline Silicon Batch Technology
Polysilicon Ingot Wafer Solar Cell Solar Module
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 8

9. "Copy Smart" Production Capacity Growth
Driven by increasing efficiency, run rate, and yields 1,816 MW
1,709 MW 107 France
Plant
5&6
1,282 MW
1,228 MW
1282 1282 Malaysia
716 MW 854
854
382
308 MW
214 214 214 Germany
191 214
176
100 MW
Capacity 25 MW 99 132 143 160 214 214 214 Ohio
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2005 & 2006 based on Q406 run rate; 2007 based on Q407 run rate; 2008 based on Q408 run rate; 2009 – 2012 based on Q409 run rate
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 9

10. Environmental Responsibility
First Solar's Commitment to Extended Producer Responsibility
Extended Producer Responsibility
requires companies to take
responsibility for the impacts of
their products: from the materials
used in manufacturing to product
recycling.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 10

11. Cost reductions and scale
© First Solar, Inc. 11

12. Cost Reductions Achieved Through Scale
1,200 $3.50
1,228 MW
$2.94 $3.00
1,000 First Solar Manufacturing Capacity
First Solar Module Cost per Watt
$2.50
800
716 MW
$2.00
600
$1.59
$1.40 $1.50
$1.23
$1.08
400 $0.84
308 MW $1.00
200
$0.50
100MW
10 MW 25 MW
0 $0.00
2004
2004 2005
2005 2006
2006 2007
2007 2008
2008E 2009
2009E
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 12

13. Module Manufacturing Cost Reduction Roadmap
$2.94/W Q4 2009 cost per watt = $0.84
$0.93/W
100% 18-25%
4-6%
4-6%
3-4% $0.52 - 0.63/W
2%
56-68%
2004 Q1 09 Efficiency Throughput Spending Low Cost Plant Scale 2014
Cost/Watt Cost/Watt Location Cost/Watt Target
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 13

14. 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
* Includes standard EPC costs; excludes site-specific and development costs, as well as interest during construction
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 14

15. Cost Reduction – Solar Electricity (LCOE)
Medium Resource – 1400 hours High Resource – 1800 hours
U.S. ¢/kWh U.S. ¢/kWh
35 35
30 30
25 25
20 20
Transition Transition
15 15
Sustainable Sustainable
FSLR 2014
FSLR 2014
10 10
5 5
0 0
$6.00 $5.00 $4.00 $3.00 $2.00 $6.00 $5.00 $4.00 $3.00 $2.00
Note: Assumes 7.5% unlevered IRR, 30% ITC, FSLR panels, utility scale plant, install labor and site specific cost estimates. Includes owner development costs, financing costs
and O&M.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 15

16. First Solar Project Profiles
© First Solar, Inc. 16

17. First Solar Installations: Large, Diverse, Global
• 1,800 MW rooftop and ground mount solar panels installed worldwide
– Installed 50% rooftop and 50% ground mount in Germany
– Partnership with Solar City commercial rooftop
• 1,500 MW ground mount utility-scale projects contracted in California and Southwest
Site: Duisburg, Germany Site: Fontana, CA, USA Site: Blythe, CA, USA Site: San Rafael, CA, USA
System System System System
Size: 1.2MW Size: 2 MW Size: 21 MW Size: 9 kW
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 17

18. North American Solar Project Locations
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 18

19. 1.65 GW of PPA, EPC and RESOP North American Systems Business Pipeline
Small/medium (< 100 MW) Large (> 100 MW)
Project/Location MW PPA Owner Project/ MW PPA Owner
AC Location AC
Sarnia, Ontario 60 OPA Enbridge Sunlight, California 550 SCE TBD
and
Copper Mt, Nevada 48 PGE1 Sempra PGE
Cimarron, New Mexico 30 Tri- Southern. Topaz, California 550 PGE TBD
State Turner Ren
Stateline, California 300 SCE TBD
PNM/ New Mexico 22 UOG2 PNM
Tilbury, Ontario 5 OPA TBD Total 1,400
St Clair, Ontario 40 OPA TBD
Walpole, Ontario 20 OPA TBD
Belmont, Ontario 20 OPA TBD 1 EPC contract
2 UOG = Utility-owned generation
Amherstburg, Ontario 10 OPA TBD
Total 255
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 19

20. Economic Impacts of First Solar Project Portfolio
• 1,421 MW announced projects in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Luis Obispo Counties
– Blythe: 21 MW now online
– Sunlight: 550 MW; Topaz: 550 MW; Stateline: 300 MW under development
• Additional projects in pipeline
• Will generate approximately 1,800 construction jobs over 3-4 year construction period
• Jobs include skilled and unskilled labor including electricians, engineers, equipment
operators, biologists, construction, etc.
• Will work with subcontractors to provide jobs to local community
– Blythe 21MW (CA) and Copper Mountain 48 MW (NV) employed both union and non-union labor,
including workers from the local community.
• Will generate sales and property tax revenues for state and counties
– Topaz (CA) $16M sales/property tax; Sunlight (CA) $100M sales tax to CA/$10M to county
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 20

21. Development
Utility Scale Projects in North America – Sold in Q4
Module
EPC Standard
Sarnia Canada Blythe California
20 MW (AC) 21 MW (AC)
Buyer: Enbridge Buyer: NRG Energy
Ontario Power RESOP PPA with SCE
Completed Q4’09 Completed Q4’09
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 21

22. Blythe Solar Project
Size: 21 MW
Location: Blythe, Riverside County
Power Purchaser: Southern California Edison
Sold to NRG
• Provides clean, affordable, sustainable
s
energy for 6,000 average California homes
• Displaces approx. 12,000 metric tons of CO₂
greenhouse gas emissions per year – the
equivalent of taking almost 2,200 cars off the
road
• Requires no panel washing and no water use
during operation
• Created 300 jobs during construction
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 22

23. Desert Sunlight Solar Project
Size: 550 MW
Location: Chuckawalla Valley, Riverside County
Power Purchasers: SCE and PG&E
• Provides clean, affordable, sustainable energy for
160,000 average California homes
• Displaces over 300,000 metric tons of CO₂
greenhouse gas emissions per year – the
equivalent of taking almost 60,000 cars off the
road
• Creates approximately 430 jobs during
construction, 15 ongoing jobs
• $100M sales tax to CA, $10M to county
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 23

24. Topaz Solar Farm
Size: 550 MW
Location: Eastern San Luis Obispo County
Power Purchaser: Pacific Gas & Electric
• Provides clean, affordable, sustainable
energy for tens of thousands of California
homes
• Displaces approx. 290,000 metric tons of
CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions per year
• Creates approximately 400 jobs during
construction, 12 permanent jobs
• $16M sales and property tax
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 24

25. Stateline Solar Project
Size: 300MW
Location: Northeastern San Bernardino County
Power Purchaser: Southern California Edison
• Provides clean, affordable, sustainable energy
for approx. 90,000 average California homes
• Displaces over 165,000 metric tons of CO₂
greenhouse gas emissions per year – the
equivalent of taking over 32,000 cars off the
road
• Requires no panel washing and no water use
during operation
• Creates approximately 400 jobs during
construction. 12 ongoing jobs
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 25

26. Sempra - El Dorado 10 2008
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27. NRG - Blythe 21 2009
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28. Enbridge - Sarnia 60 2010
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29. Sempra - Copper 48 2010
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30. Southern - Cimarron 30 2010
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 30

31. Sustainable Solar
© First Solar, Inc. 31

32. The Migration from Existing Subsidy to Transition Markets
Sustainable
Markets
Transition
Markets
Existing Subsidy Constraints
Markets
Large Scale Solar Requires Modification of Existing:
• Physical Infrastructures
• Institutional Frameworks
© 2009 First Solar, Inc.
• Business Models 32

33. Subsidized vs. Transition Market Economics
Long-term economics are superior in transition markets
Subsidized Market economics decline
with feed-in tariff reductions
Subsidized Markets
Sustainable Markets
Transition Markets
Transition Market economics improve as:
1. Costs decline
2. Energy prices rise over time
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 33

34. Treasury Grant Program for Solar Generation
• The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a grant in lieu of the
investment tax credit for solar generation, which could have a very positive impact
on the US solar market and related US job creation.
• However, the grant program will expire at the end of this year, just as it is critically
needed to bring projects on line and attract investors for new developing projects.
• It is vital that the grant be extended for two year – through Dec. 31, 2012.
• Tax equity financing is still very scarce.
• Due to the continuing financial crises a big gap still persists between what developers
need and what money is available.
• One of the solar industry’s most significant constraints is efficient access to capital.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 34

35. Loan Guarantee Program for Commercial Technology
• The Department of Energy loan guarantee program can play a key role in supporting
industry growth by reducing financing costs and fostering the development of robust
private capital markets to finance large solar projects.
• Approximately 85 percent of the power price received from a large-scale solar power plant
goes to repay the capital invested to build the project.
• Even though we are the leading solar power plant developer in the US, with over 1,500
megawatts of projects in development, First Solar has only one project that can meet the
deadline for this program.
• Due to the 2011 sunset date, permitting redundancy, and complexity of the program, we
anticipate having to seek private sector loans for the other projects in our portfolio. The
result is more expensive financing and higher-cost solar electricity.
• The program’s lifespan should be extended to 2016, making it coterminous with the
investment tax credit, and synchronized to the long development timelines of the projects
it is intended to support.
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 35

36. First Solar…Enabling a World Powered
by Clean, Affordable Solar Electricity
© Copyright 2010, First Solar, Inc. 36