First Solar says utility-scale PV 'starting to take off' in Australia

“The utility-scale solar market in Australia is just starting to take off,” chief executive Jim Hughes said.

First Solar has already been successful in the country’s only two major competitive tenders to date and is positioned to capture at least 30% market share, he told analysts on a conference call following second-quarter results.

Hughes's bullish stance comes after Trina Solar's regional large-scale solar manager Alan Ropers toldRecharge: "We can really see that large-scale [solar] is beginning to receive a lot of attention."

First Solar has installed the last panel at Australia’s first utility-scale solar farm near Geraldton in Western Australia (WA) – the 10MW Greenough River plant owned by utility Verve Energy and GE Financial Services.

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