Post #8 (May 25th 2018)

Today was my last day of the week going into the First Solar headquarters. I actually went a little bit away from the headquarters during the afternoon to visit a solar site a little north of Tempe in Mesa. But before I did that I talked a little bit more to Shauna about human resources. She talked about what the goals are for human resources in 2018. This year they're doing things a little bit differently. First, they want to tear down as many barriers as they can between the different sections of first solar. Obviously, everyone will still have their roles to play, but they want to encourage group/collaborative work. They also want to promote diversity and inclusion. One of the ways they're putting this into practice is that in talent acquisition (recruiting), they're not asking what school they went to and what year they graduated. There are stereotypes and biases behind associated with colleges. In some case, genders are even linked to college, and they don't want that to factor in whether they hire someone. I think this is a really good thing. It's not where you go to college that matters, but what degree you get and what experience you have. This really promotes a merit-based, fair system. They also want to add arts to the STEM initiative (making it STEAM). They want to promote to the community that science and math don't have to be some boring unoriginal thing: it can be something creative too. By adding arts to the STEM initiative in Arizona, they will boost the youth's creativity. The tour of the solar site was very foolproof. I got an idea of how they test the panels, what problems can arise with panels, and how everything kind of works. I already knew how the panels worked, but seeing it in person made it click. Dan showed me around the testing sites, and something was apparent to me right away. A lot of the technology seemed to be being renovated and I asked him why. His answer made a lot of sense; basically, because of the new series 6 model coming out, they have to change the testing equipment as well. The old testing equipment was only fit to test 2 by 4 series 4 models, so the testing equipment has to be updated as well as the panels obviously. He did also make sure to mention that there's more testing being done than just the panels. He said most of the panel testing relatively is done in Perrysburg while most of the other things like wires, generators, and batteries are tested at the Mesa site. It's a misconception to think a plant only consists of panels, and that moment helped me realize that. When we went outside I saw the panels, and he went over more tests. Things as simple as dust tests to make sure the panel could still properly detect light was explained. It was very hot outside, but the experience was worth it to get an up close and personal look at the panels. It made it easy to see why there's more demand for these plants in places like Arizona and California along with places like India and Malaysia. While a lot of the details Dan talked were very minor and technical, it was helpful to get an overview of what needs to happen before the modules can actually function. I'm having a lot of fun learning about the business, politics, and science behind First Solar.