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Mark Widmar

Chief Executive Officer & Director, First Solar

Search every verified Mark Widmar interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar, has been speaking publicly about the company's domestic manufacturing expansion and its competitive position against Chinese solar manufacturers. At the Reindustrialize conference in July 2026, Widmar stated that First Solar has built six factories in the United States, created 40,000 jobs across its supply chain, and generates $4 billion in annual payroll. He said the company intentionally kept its manufacturing in the U.S. and described its approach to integrating AI into manufacturing processes, arguing that it has not reduced jobs. Widmar also said that the U.S. government should "get out of the way" and allow companies to invest, as long as they are creating economic prosperity and not moving jobs offshore. In other appearances, Widmar discussed the need for a "level playing field" with China, which he said has heavily subsidized crystalline silicon technology and dumped it into international markets. He said First Solar's thin-film technology is positioned to enable future multi-junction or tandem solar cells with significantly higher efficiencies. During First Solar's Q1 2026 earnings call, Widmar noted that the company is pursuing intellectual property litigation related to crystalline silicon imports and stated that if Tesla chooses to use Topcon technology, it may infringe on First Solar's IP, though he said the company is open to a commercial conversation about licensing. At the 2026 annual meeting, Widmar reported that the company's "cure" technology launch is complete in Perrysburg and is scheduled to be replicated across its Series 6 and 7 fleet through the first half of 2028, which he said supports the potential realization of up to $0.6 billion in additional revenue from technology adjusters in the backlog.

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