The company has developed some of the largest solar farms in the world, including the Topaz and Desert Sunlight projects, in California, each of which has a capacity of 550 megawatts. Last year , First Solar beat the conversion efficiency mark for cadmium telluride ( CT ) with a world - record 21.5 % , beating the previous record of 20.4%efficiency ; the company predicted it would exceed 22 % in 2015 . According to the firm , " The achievement places First Solar ahead of its established research cell roadmap , and validates CdTe ’s significant competitive advantage over traditional crystalline silicon technology . " Raffi Ali , First Solar 's CTO , notes , " We ' ve improved the efficiency and energy density of our mass - produced commercial PV modules at a rate at least three times faster than our multi - crystalline Si competitors . We fully expect to further separate ourselves from the pack in coming years . "
Last year , First Solar beat the conversion efficiency mark for cadmium telluride ( CT ) with a world - record 21.5 % , beating the previous record of 20.4%efficiency ; the company predicted it would exceed 22 % in 2015 . According to the firm , " The achievement places First Solar ahead of its established research cell roadmap , and validates CdTe ’s significant competitive advantage over traditional crystalline silicon technology . " Raffi Ali , First Solar 's CTO , notes , " We 've improved the efficiency and energy density of our mass - produced commercial PV modules at a rate at least three times faster than our multi - crystalline Si competitors . We fully expect to further separate ourselves from the pack in coming years . "