First Solar looks past success to even brighter future

First Solar Inc. [Tempe, Ariz.] is the world's largest solar-panel maker. Now, it wants to compete with fossil-fuel power generators.

In addition to making flat, glass panels that convert sunlight into electricity, First Solar has built some of the largest solar farms in the U.S. including a 21-megawatt facility in Blythe, Calif., owned by NRG Energy Inc. and a 10-megawatt plant in Boulder City, Nev., owned by Sempra Energy, according to a June 25 report in The Wall Street Journal.