First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) revealed today that it had signed a partnership agreement with General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). The company said it is joining with GE’s Power Conversion division in the development of a “more cost effective and productive utility-sale PV power plant design.” The plant will utilize First Solar’s thin-film CdTe modules and GE’s new ProSolar 1500-volt inverter and transformer system.
What First Solar, GE hope to accomplish
According to today’s press release, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) has integrated some new technology into its solar modules to optimize them for 1500 VDC applications. By combining them with General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)’s technology, the two companies hope to be able to create an engineering design for a power plant which “significantly increases the size of the solar array served by each inverter and reduces the number of inverter / transformer stations required for each plant to convert the power from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) and feed electricity to a commercial electrical grid.”
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) said it has already identified some current projects which are already under construction which could be good candidates for the first deployments of the new system.
First Solar also soaring on other factors
According to The Street, there are also a couple of other factors which could be sending shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) skyward. The company guided for production of between 1.9 gigawatts and 2 gigawatts for the current fiscal year. It also said it expects capital expenditures to be between $300 million and 4350 million.
In addition, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) also said in a separate press release it had broken its previous world record for cadmium-telluride photovoltaic module conversion efficiency. The company revealed that it has gotten the total area module efficiency up to 17%. That’s according to tests conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) said the last record of 16.1% last April. Just weeks ago, the company also said it set a new world record in cadmium-telluride research cell efficiency, which is now at 20.4%.
