First Solar Establishes Indian Operating Company

First Solar, Inc. announced the appointment of Sujoy Ghosh as country head to lead business development in India and manage the company’s new entity based in New Delhi.

In this new role, Ghosh will be responsible for advancing and executing First Solar’s business strategy to expand the market for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants and to deliver value to Indian solar power producers. He reports to Jim Brown, First Solar executive vice president for global business development.

With more than 20 years of industry experience, Ghosh joins First Solar from GE Energy, where he was the regional general manager for the Power Generation business. He has worked in a diverse range of businesses from transmission and distribution to thermal power generation to renewable energy. Prior to joining GE, Ghosh worked at Tata Honeywell in sales and market development for 13 years.

“India is a land of immense opportunity for solar energy and First Solar, and we will continue to invest here as part of our strategy to develop sustainable, utility-scale solar markets where energy demand is strong and growing,” said Brown. “Sujoy’s extensive experience in the energy industry and strong understanding of the Indian market will be invaluable to First Solar as we work to help India meet its energy needs with clean solar power.”

“India is taking a progressive approach by incorporating clean, renewable sources of power in its plans to address its growing energy needs,” said Ghosh. “I am pleased to join First Solar, which has proven solutions to support India’s energy and economic growth.”

India is expected to become one of the world’s major solar markets due to its strong growth, significant energy demand and abundant solar resource. First Solar entered the Indian PV market in 2011 and is a local market leader for large-scale PV power plants. India accounted for around 8% of the company’s net sales in 2011.