ANNUAL REPORT

1 All nancial numbers in this REPORT are based on Generally Accepted Accounting letter contains statements other than statements of historical fact, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors as described the company s lings with Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are quali ed in their entirety by the cautionary statements and risk factors contained in the company s ANNUAL REPORT on Form 10-K for the scal year ended December 31, Headquarters 350 West Washington Street, Suite 600 Tempe, AZ 85281 USA Telephone: +1 602 414 9300 Facsimile: +1 602 414 9400 REPORT 2020 FIRST SOLAR | ANNUAL REPORT 2020 FIRST SOLAR | ANNUAL REPORT 2020 First Solar, the First Solar logo, and Leading the World s Sustainable Energy Future are trademarks of First Solar, Inc.

2 , registered in the and other countries. Series 6, Series 6 Plus, CuRe, Series 6 CuRe, and the Series 6 CuRe logo are trademarks of First Solar, Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) solar solutions, which use its advanced module and system technology. The company s integrated power plant solutions deliver an economically attractive alternative to fossil-fuel electricity generation today. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life module recycling, First Solar s renewable energy solutions protect and enhance the MANAGEMENTMark Widmar, Chief Executive Of cerAlex Bradley, Chief Financial Of cerGeorges Antoun, Chief Commercial Of cerMichael Koralewski, Chief Manufacturing Operations Of cerKuntal Kumar Verma, Chief Manufacturing Engineering Of cerPat Buehler, Chief Quality and Reliability Of cerMarkus Gloeckler, Chief Technology Of cerCaroline Stockdale, Chief People and Communications Of cerJason Dymbort, General Counsel & SecretaryBOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael J.

3 Ahearn, Chairman of the BoardSharon L. Allen, Independent DirectorRichard Chapman, Independent DirectorGeorge Hambro, Independent DirectorKathryn A. Hollister, Independent DirectorMolly Joseph, Independent DirectorCraig Kennedy, Independent DirectorWilliam J. Post, Independent DirectorPaul H. Stebbins, Independent DirectorMichael Sweeney, Independent DirectorMark Widmar, Director and Chief Executive Of cerTRANSFER AGENTC omputershare Trust Company, Box 505000 Louisville, KY 40233-5002 Stockholder Services: +1 800 962 4284 AUDITORS PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPSTOCK LISTING First Solar, Inc. common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, listed under RELATIONS 350 West Washington StreetSuite 600 Tempe, AZ 85281 investor@ HEADQUARTERS 350 West Washington StreetSuite 600 Tempe, AZ 85281 Telephone +1 602 414 9300 Facsimile +1 602 414 9400 info@ www.

4 InformationAbout First SolarFIRST SOLAR | ANNUAL REPORT 2020 MARK WIDMAR | CEOS ince our company s founding over 20 years ago, the photovoltaic (PV) industry has been through periods of rapid growth, declining costs, and technology evolutions. As one of the few solar companies that both entered and exited this last decade, we have continued to adapt our business model to remain competitive and maintain our differentiation in a constantly evolving market. Despite these transformations, our core identity as a module manufacturing company with a differentiated Cadmium Telluride (CadTel) technology has remained constant. Overall, I am pleased with the commercial implementation of our Series 6 manufacturing roadmap. We started Series 6 commercial production in April of 2018, and exited 2020 with a nameplate manufacturing capacity of gigawatts (GW).

5 With six factories currently in operation across a geographically diverse footprint in the United States, Malaysia, and Vietnam, we have a strong platform from which we expect to grow, increasing expected nameplate capacity ~50% by year-end 2022. In 2020, the capabilities of our CadTel technology continued to grow, as we exited the year with average watts per module of 440 and a top production bin of 445 watts. This momentum has continued into 2021, with our modules achieving a top production bin of 450 watts in February. With a mid-term target of a 500 watt module, coupled with an anticipated 50% reduction in our warranted ANNUAL degradation rate and an improved temperature coef cient in our Series 6 copper replaced, or CuRe, modules compared to our existing Series 6 modules, we believe the outlook for our technology roadmap is exciting.

6 As we look to the future, our pace of innovation will be critical to our competitive strength, enabling us to leverage our points of differentiation and capture compelling value for our technology. We believe the combination of a differentiated technology and a balanced business model of growth, liquidity, and pro tability will enable us to achieve our vision of leading the world s sustainable energy future, and generate attractive returns for our Our ShareholdersFIRST SOLAR | ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Although 2020 was a very challenging year, I m proud of the way our team responded with their continued commitment to health and safety, delivering value to our customers, and achieving our objectives in this unprecedented year. In light of continued intense competition from the crystalline-silicon industry, and unforeseen challenges related to the pandemic, we are very pleased with our nancial and operational results in sales in 2020 were $ billion, with earnings per share of $ Over the past three years we have invested in six new Series 6 factories, and despite this signi cant investment, our healthy balance sheet remains a strategic differentiator.

7 Our net-cash position, which includes cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities, less debt, at year-end was $ December 2020 against December 2019, megawatts (MW) produced per day increased to 17. 3 M W, an increase of 23%. Fleet-wide capacity utilization increased to 117%, an increase of 20 percentage points. Production yield increased to 97. 6 % , an increase of percentage points. average watts per module increased to 439 watts, an increase of 9 watts, and as noted, our top production bin increased to 445 watts. This strong performance has continued into 2021, with improvements in all key metrics across the eet since year-end as of February 23, 2021. Additionally, in February we commenced initial production at our second Series 6 factory in Malaysia.

8 By the end of the year, we anticipate our Malaysia factories will have a combined nameplate capacity of 3GW. Finally, we exited 2020 with of nameplate manufacturing capacity, increasing 15% compared to 2019. By increasing average watts per module, throughput, and manufacturing yield, and with the addition of our second Series 6 factory in Malaysia, we anticipate our nameplate manufacturing capacity will increase to by the end of in ReviewFIRST SOLAR | ANNUAL REPORT 2020 TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIPIn early 2021, we provided an updated Series 6 ef ciency roadmap. Through continued operational improvement, and execution of our ef ciency roadmap, we increased our average watts per module to 439 watts with a top production bin of 445 watts at the end of 2020.

9 Today, we are consistently achieving a top production bin of 450 watt modules. Leveraging our existing Series 6 toolset, we increased our module form factor by approximately 2% and increased our module ef ciency, increasing our top production bin by approximately 10 watts. After our second Malaysia factory ramp is complete we anticipate our top bin will be 455 watts. Importantly, this increase in form factor is sized to reduce balance-of-system (BoS) cost per watt by adding module wattage without material changes to the installation process or support structures. We anticipate implementing this increase in form factor, which we are calling Series 6 Plus, across the eet over the course of the fourth quarter of 2021, we anticipate commencing the initial production of our copper replaced Series 6 or CuRe, on our lead production line.

10 This program is expected to not only increase module wattage but also meaningfully improve lifetime energy performance. Accordingly, by the end of 2021, we anticipate our top production bin will reach 460 to 465 watts, with an expected 30-year warranted degradation rate approximately 50% below our existing baseline. Given that PV power plants have an expected useful life of up to 40 years, a reduction in a module s long-term degradation is expected to be a material bene t to project economics as it increases the energy density of the module and the lifecycle energy generation. By the end of rst quarter of 2022, we anticipate the entire manufacturing eet will be converted to the implementation of our copper replacement program, combined with other ongoing R&D programs, we are aiming to achieve a top production bin of 475 to 480 watts by the end of 2022, which represents an acceleration of our previously planned timeline for a 480 watt module in 2023.