Responsible Solar

First Solar Invests $11 Million in Underserved American Communities

First Solar partners with LISC and Hope Credit Union to help power sustainable, inclusive economic change

TEMPE, Ariz., July 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has invested $11 million in efforts to revitalize American communities and bridge racial gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity. As part of the initiative, the company has purchased $10 million in Impact Notes from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and made a $1 million Transformational Deposit in the HOPE Credit Union.

“LISC and Hope Credit Union are doing a tremendous job at addressing inequality and, as America’s solar company, we’re proud to be supporting their mission. By working with companies like ours to reallocate cash holdings, they’re creating capital for underserved communities and powering sustainable and inclusive economic change,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “We hope that these investments, which are in line with our commitment to socially- and environmentally-responsible solar, will help communities across America.”

LISC is a national non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that was conceived by the Ford Foundation in 1979. The Impact Notes are fixed-income debt securities issued by LISC, which help fund community and economic development projects across 36 cities and 2,100 rural counties in 45 states.

“Innovative companies like First Solar are putting their treasury dollars to work in ways that reflect their corporate values and objectives,” said Annie Donovan, chief operating officer at LISC. “In effect, First Solar is leveraging its business strength to help finance lasting economic, social and racial justice, so that families and communities throughout the country can thrive."

First Solar’s Transformational Deposit in Mississipi-based HOPE Credit Union will support its work to provide business, mortgage, and consumer loans, and other financial services to Black communities across the South. HOPE works to import capital through Transformational Deposits into underbanked communities where poverty has constrained the amount of savings and other assets. First Solar’s $1 million investment provides the capital required for HOPE to finance small businesses, housing, healthcare, and other vital needs, such as helping communities navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.