First Solar Teams Up with Graybar, Kinect Solar, and WESCO Distribution to Serve Distributed Generation Market
- Darin Green
Over the past 20 years, Arizona-headquartered First Solar has grown from a small manufacturer in Ohio into America’s solar company and its largest PV module producer, shipping over 25 gigawatts (GW) of uniquely American solar technology to over 45 countries around the world.
First Solar has consistently been a leader in the utility-scale market, with our thin-film modules forming the backbone of the American clean energy generation fleet. I am pleased to announce that those high quality, high-performance modules are now readily available to the distributed generation (DG) market in the United States through our module distribution partners: Graybar, Kinect Solar, and WESCO Distribution.
These distributors will offer First Solar’s top-selling Series 6 module to projects and customers of all shapes and sizes, so that they can power communities and businesses across America. Designed and developed at our state-of-the-art R&D centers in California and Ohio, the modules can unlock considerable savings and deliver superior lifetime energy for community solar projects, C&I solutions, schools, and municipal/military applications.
We are excited to work with Graybar, Kinect Solar, and WESCO Distribution. Each of these companies will help bring First Solar’s utility-grade quality and execution certainty to the DG market. They can engage a diverse set of customers with the robust support and execution certainty required for success in the distributed markets. Critically, they can offer clients an unmatched customer-centric experience that arms DG solar players with the confidence to bid and build projects on schedule at the agreed bin and price.
First Solar modules provide a host of benefits that suit the DG market; our differentiators speak for themselves:
- The large-format thin film Series 6 module was designed with the input of leading structure providers and EPCs to optimize transportation, installation, and operation of PV projects, providing one of the lowest system-level costs-per-watt in the market. As a result, our Series 6 module is compatible with over 50 balance of systems (BoS) providers and works with all inverter types.
- First Solar’s advanced manufacturing process and technology lead the industry in quality and reliability. Going above and beyond industry requirements, First Solar modules consistently pass even the most stringent third-party certifications for performance, durability, and long-term reliability.
- From manufacturing to operation to end-of-life recycling, First Solar PV modules are the most sustainable in the industry. Series 6 modules have the lowest carbon footprint, water use, and pollution footprint of any Tier 1 PV module.
- The only American AA-rated module manufacturer, First Solar has the added advantage of a substantial U.S. footprint and a geographically diversified supply chain and manufacturing footprint.
My team and I are excited to be playing a small part in what is a big step for American solar. These alliances will help ensure that the solar projects that power our offices, factories, and communities use solar technology that is uniquely American, and made by a company that embodies American creativity, ingenuity, and innovation.
Find out more by visiting firstsolar.com/DG
We look forward to speaking with you about how First Solar and its distribution partners can add value to your next DG project.
