First Solar
A US solar panel manufacturer headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and the world's leading producer of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic modules, an alternative to conventional silicon-based solar panels.
Covered in 3 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on September 2, 2026.
Coverage
Tellurium's Clean-Energy Role Is Growing, But 90% of It Still Comes From Copper Waste
Tellurium's expanding role in solar power and data-center waste-heat recovery is spotlighted in a new report, even though more than 90% of global supply still comes from copper refining's leftover anode slime.
First Solar's Tellurium Solar Panels Sit Outside New US Tariffs Arriving December 4
A new US tariff and price floor on imported solar panels takes effect December 4. First Solar's tellurium-based panels, built at its $1.1 billion Louisiana plant, aren't covered by it.
Rio Tinto's Utah Copper Mine Builds a 30-Megawatt Solar Plant From Its Own Waste Tellurium
Rio Tinto's Kennecott copper mine in Utah extracts tellurium from anode slime, copper refining's leftover waste, then uses that tellurium in solar panels now powering 30 megawatts of the mine's own operations.
