GigaOM Pro

First Solar is down almost 8 percent in morning trading, erasing all of its 2012 gains, as the company disappointed with a net loss of $413 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Much of this was expected as First Solar exits the module market and attempts to crack the non subsidized, large scale utility solar farm development market. We’ve always known that First Solar was undergoing a massive shift in strategy, which contained a lot of risk, but also had the revolutionary possibility of making solar price competitive with coal and natural gas. Investing in First Solar is a long term bet since its plans depend on finding customers in new markets like Asia and South America and we’ll hear more from the company in May when it lays out its 3 year plan.