As part of the deal, First Solar has acquired GE's global cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar intellectual property portfolio, setting a course for significant advancement of photovoltaic (PV) thin-film solar technology.
GE received 1.75 million shares of First Solar common stock as part of this transaction. GE has agreed to retain the shares for at least three years.
"We are creating an exciting synergy with this deal," said Jim Hughes, First Solar's Chief Executive Officer. "The addition of GE's PV thin film technology and R&D resources will advance our technology roadmap, while realizing cost reduction in our manufacturing process."
The combination of the two companies' complementary technologies and First Solar's existing manufacturing capabilities is expected to accelerate the development of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar module performance and improve efficiency at manufacturing scale, the companies said in a joint statement.
In addition, GE Global Research and First Solar R&D will collaborate on future technology development to further advance CdTe solar technology.
Additionally, GE and First Solar have formed a commercial relationship around solar inverter technology. First Solar will continue to purchase inverters from GE Energy Management for use in First Solar's global solar deployments to optimize electrical balance of plant.
By combining complementary technologies, the collaboration is expected to lead to an improvement in solar grid integration, more competitive cost structures and a roadmap for combined electrical equipment, the companies said.
"To lead in today's solar industry, you must have the most competitive technology at the most competitive cost position," said Anne McEntee, president and CEO of GE's renewable energy business. "We're excited to partner with First Solar to accelerate innovation and bring our complementary technology and R&D to market faster through its manufacturing capabilities."
King & Spalding LLP and Arnold & Porter LLP represented GE on the transaction, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP represented First Solar.
In addition to its new partnership, First Solar also acquired a pipeline of U.S. and Mexico development assets from Element Power.
The 1.5 GW pipeline includes geographically diverse projects in various stages of development. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Included in the pipeline are projects in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Louisiana and Illinois. The projects are competitively positioned in their respective markets and have secured site options and interconnect queue positions, and are at various stages of environmental screening and permitting.
"These U.S. assets are an excellent complement to our existing project pipeline," said Tim Rebhorn, First Solar's Senior Vice President of Business Development for the Americas. "The mix of projects in emerging U.S. regions and an optimized pipeline in established markets will better position First Solar to secure customer off-take agreements."
The portfolio also includes several Mexican projects located in the State of Sonora that are in a position to take advantage of the emerging utility scale PV market in Mexico.
"The Mexican project pipeline strategically positions First Solar for our entry into the market," said Rebhorn. "We are excited by the opportunity to explore new relationships with CFE and with commercial and industrial customers and the Mexican government, and to establish a strong initial presence in the region."
Raimund Grube, President and COO of Element Power, said the sale "demonstrates a relationship that brings together the strengths of each company to add high quality solar assets to the energy mix in the US and Mexico."
" As a key component to delivering competitive renewable energy, we look forward to maintaining strong relationships with companies like First Solar who consistently demonstrate a lead position in the industry through successful acquisition, development and construction of solar projects," Grube said.
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