ARTsolar vs First Solar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
First Solar has the broader catalog (63 vs 0 models). First Solar leans bifacial (19% of lineup).
Both catalogues are read from the manufacturers' own datasheets. A brand is not scored against the market here, only against the other brand on this page.
The two companies
First Solar is a leading American solar technology company and global provider of responsibly produced eco-efficient solar modules, advancing the fight against climate change. The company manufactures thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules using cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. First Solar is unique...
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- Tempe, AZ, USA
- Annual capacity
- 21+ GW/year
- Employees
- 5500-8100
- Listed
- NASDAQ: FSLR
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Catalogue against catalogue
An average over a catalogue describes the range a manufacturer publishes, not the module you would buy. A brand with two flagship panels and eighty older ones averages worse than one that has retired its back catalogue.
What each of them builds
Dominant cell tech: <strong>CdTe</strong> (81%)
The flagships
Written summary
First Solar is a United States-based manufacturer headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, with roots going back to the late 1990s and commercial-scale operations established in the early 2000s. It is one of the most consistently bankable names on the BloombergNEF Tier 1 list and operates factories across the US, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India, giving it an annual nameplate capacity of over 20 GWdc. ARTsolar was founded in 2010 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and is the country's only 100% locally owned PV module manufacturer. Its production scale is far smaller - around 340 MW per year following a 2025 capacity upgrade tied to a manufacturing partnership with JA Solar - and it does not appear on the BloombergNEF Tier 1 list. In terms of institutional footprint and global bankability, First Solar is in a different league.
First Solar's commercial lineup - the Series 6 and Series 7 modules - is built entirely around cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film technology, a format optimised almost exclusively for large utility-scale ground-mount projects. It is not a residential or small commercial product. ARTsolar, through its JA Solar partnership, now assembles n-type DeepBlue 4.0 Pro modules locally in South Africa, making it relevant for utility-scale and commercial projects that must satisfy the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy's local content thresholds under South Africa's REIPPPP procurement programme. ARTsolar has also faced operational headwinds, including significant workforce reductions in mid-2025 following project delays, and active litigation over local content compliance rulings.
For a global utility developer seeking bankable, proven thin-film modules at scale, First Solar is the clear default. ARTsolar is a niche but strategically important choice for South African project developers whose financing or tender submissions require demonstrable local manufacturing content - a context in which First Solar, with no South African production, simply does not compete.
- First Solar added 6.8 GW of module capacity in 2023
- First Solar to open fifth US factory adding 3.7 GW of annual production
- JA Solar and ARTsolar agree to expand PV module manufacturing in South Africa
- JA Solar DeepBlue 4.0 Pro modules now locally produced in South Africa
- ARTsolar and JA Solar - Driving South Africa's renewable energy revolution
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-14
Other brand comparisons
Comparisons are computed from manufacturer datasheets held in the ComparePV database and may not reflect a brand's complete current lineup. Nothing on this page is paid placement.