第一太陽能 (FSLR) 2021 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to First Solar's Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Call. This call is being webcast live on the Investors Section of First Solar's website at investor.firstsolar.com. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

大家下午好，歡迎參加 First Solar 2021 年第三季度財報電話會議。此次電話會議正在 First Solar 網站investor.firstsolar.com 的投資者部分進行網絡直播。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，今天的通話正在錄音中。

I would now like to turn the call over to Mitch Ennis from First Solar Investor Relations. Mr. Ennis, you may begin.

我現在想將電話轉給 First Solar 投資者關係部的 Mitch Ennis。恩尼斯先生，你可以開始了。

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, the company issued a press release announcing its third quarter 2021 financial results. A copy of the press release and associated presentation are available on First Solar's website at investor.firstsolar.com.

謝謝你。大家下午好，感謝您加入我們。今天，該公司發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了其 2021 年第三季度的財務業績。新聞稿和相關演示文稿的副本可在 First Solar 的網站investor.firstsolar.com 上獲得。

With me today are Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer; and Alex Bradley, Chief Financial Officer. Mark will begin by providing a business and technology update. Alex will then discuss our financial results for the quarter and provide updated guidance for 2021. Following the remarks, we will open the call for questions.

今天和我在一起的是首席執行官 Mark Widmar；和首席財務官亞歷克斯布拉德利。 Mark 將首先提供業務和技術更新。然後，亞歷克斯將討論我們本季度的財務業績，並提供 2021 年的最新指導。在發表講話後，我們將開始提問。

Please note, this call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's current expectations including, among other risks and uncertainties, the severity and duration of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage you to review the safe harbor statements contained in today's press release and presentation for a more complete description.

請注意，本次電話會議將包括涉及風險和不確定性的前瞻性陳述，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與管理層當前的預期存在重大差異，其中包括 COVID-19 大流行影響的嚴重性和持續時間等風險和不確定性。我們鼓勵您查看今天的新聞稿和演示文稿中包含的安全港聲明，以獲得更完整的描述。

It is now my pleasure to introduce Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer. Mark?

現在我很高興介紹首席執行官 Mark Widmar。標記？

Thank you, Mitch. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today.

謝謝你，米奇。下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。

Beginning on Slide 3, I would like to start by thanking the First Solar team for their dedication and continuing execution. Operationally, despite the challenging freight and COVID-19 environment, our associates continue to deliver on their commitments. In the third quarter, we produced over 2 gigawatts of modules. And in October, we increased our top production bin to 465 watts, which represents a 19% glass area efficiency.

從幻燈片 3 開始，我首先要感謝 First Solar 團隊的奉獻和持續執行。在運營方面，儘管貨運和 COVID-19 環境充滿挑戰，我們的員工仍繼續履行承諾。第三季度，我們生產了超過 2 吉瓦的組件。 10 月，我們將頂級生產箱增加到 465 瓦，這意味著玻璃面積效率提高了 19%。

In parallel, we started construction of the building of our third Ohio factory and began ordering equipment for our first factory in India. Commercially, we had a good quarter increasing our record year-to-date bookings to 10.5 gigawatts. From a financial perspective, while Q3 freight costs were higher than anticipated, our full year sales freight expectation is unchanged.

與此同時，我們開始建設我們在俄亥俄州的第三家工廠，並開始為我們在印度的第一家工廠訂購設備。在商業上，我們有一個不錯的季度將我們創紀錄的年初至今的預訂量增加到 10.5 吉瓦。從財務角度來看，雖然第三季度運費高於預期，但我們對全年銷售運費的預期保持不變。

Shipments, which we generally define as when the delivering process to a customer commences and the module leaves one of our factories, totaled 2.1 gigawatts in Q3, which was only modestly below our expectations. Despite this total shipment results, the global freight market continues to experience record levels of scheduled delays and reliability issues. As a result, approximately 820 megawatts of modules shipped remained in transit at quarter end, nearly double that of the preceding 4 quarters, and were, therefore, not recognized as revenue in the quarter.

我們通常將出貨量定義為開始向客戶交付過程並且模塊離開我們的一家工廠時，第三季度的出貨量總計為 2.1 吉瓦，僅略低於我們的預期。儘管總出貨量結果如此，但全球貨運市場繼續經歷創紀錄的計劃延誤和可靠性問題。因此，在本季度末，約有 820 兆瓦的組件仍在運輸中，幾乎是前 4 個季度的兩倍，因此未在本季度確認為收入。

While we expect extended transit times to continue, we anticipate our in-transit volumes to improve in Q4 as a high percentage of our shipments are expected to come from our Perrysburg factory and U.S. distribution centers. As a result, we iterate our full year 2021 EPS guidance.

雖然我們預計運輸時間會繼續延長，但我們預計第四季度的運輸量將有所改善，因為我們的大部分貨物預計將來自我們的佩里斯堡工廠和美國配送中心。因此，我們迭代了我們的 2021 年全年每股收益指引。

Turning now to Slide 4. I'll provide an update on our expansion plans. As it relates to our U.S. expansion, we started construction in mid-August after successful groundbreaking ceremony, which included bipartisan representation from state and federal government, including Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh. As we continue this expansion journey, we're proud to be at the forefront of America's solar manufacturing, supporting domestic energy independence and creating good-paying middle-class jobs that will be here for years to come.

現在轉到幻燈片 4。我將提供我們擴展計劃的最新信息。由於這與我們在美國的擴張有關，我們在成功的奠基儀式後於 8 月中旬開始建設，其中包括來自州和聯邦政府的兩黨代表，包括勞工部長馬蒂沃爾什。隨著我們繼續這一擴張之旅，我們很自豪能夠站在美國太陽能製造的最前沿，支持國內能源獨立並創造未來幾年將在這里工作的高薪中產階級工作。

Looking forward, with a vertically integrated manufacturing process and a differentiated CadTel technology, we are uniquely positioned to expand our leadership role as the largest PV module manufacturer in the United States and support the nation's climate objectives. With construction underway and our schedule on target, we expect to commence initial production at the 3.3 gigawatt factory in the first half of 2023.

展望未來，憑藉垂直整合的製造流程和差異化的 CadTel 技術，我們具有獨特的優勢，可以擴大我們作為美國最大光伏組件製造商的領導地位，並支持國家的氣候目標。隨著建設的進行和我們的計劃進度，我們預計將在 2023 年上半年在 3.3 吉瓦工廠開始初步生產。

In September, I had the privilege of meeting Prime Minister Modi in Washington, D.C. to discuss India's long-term climate objectives and focus on energy independence and security as well as opportunities for technology leadership in India. Through an ambitious target of 300 gigawatts of installed solar capacity by the end of this decade, paired with a holistic industrial and trade policy, India has created a supportive environment for companies seeking to manufacture renewable energy in country. We commend the Indian government for its leadership and believe that if every country were to take bold steps like India, our collective ability to achieve the targets within the Paris Agreement would be well within reach.

9 月，我有幸在華盛頓特區會見了莫迪總理，討論了印度的長期氣候目標，並重點關注能源獨立和安全以及印度技術領先的機會。通過到本十年末實現 300 吉瓦太陽能裝機容量的雄心勃勃的目標，再加上全面的工業和貿易政策，印度為尋求在國內製造可再生能源的公司創造了有利的環境。我們讚揚印度政府的領導，並相信如果每個國家都像印度一樣採取大膽的舉措，我們實現《巴黎協定》目標的集體能力將觸手可及。

With this backdrop in mind, we are excited to be expanding our manufacturing footprint into India. Overall, the site preparation is complete, and we started to order equipment and the schedule is on track, with the 3.3 gigawatt factory expected to commence initial production by the end of 2023.

考慮到這一背景，我們很高興將我們的製造足跡擴展到印度。總體而言，場地準備工作已完成，我們開始訂購設備，進度按計劃進行，3.3吉瓦工廠預計將於2023年底開始投產。

Turning to Slide 5. I'll now provide COVID-19 manufacturing, supply chain and cost updates. As a global company, we have demonstrated disciplined execution, agility and a steadfast commitment to health and safety throughout the pandemic. Reflective of this approach, we have been able to maintain capacity utilization excluding planned downtime of over 100%.

轉到幻燈片 5。我現在將提供 COVID-19 製造、供應鍊和成本更新。作為一家全球性公司，我們在整個大流行期間展示了紀律嚴明的執行力、敏捷性以及對健康和安全的堅定承諾。考慮到這種方法，我們能夠保持產能利用率（不包括超過 100% 的計劃停機時間）。

Despite the challenging COVID-19 environment in Vietnam and Malaysia, our Vietnam-based manufacturing associates have been essential in the success by electing to remain on site in order to ensure manufacturing continuity. While this very challenging period of on-site quarantine ended in late October, we acknowledged our team's resiliency, ingenuity and incredible dedication to the company's mission. Through the strength of our global associates, we continue to execute, source our bill of material strategically and navigate the current environment as reflected by the manufacturing performance metrics on Slide 5.

儘管越南和馬來西亞的 COVID-19 環境充滿挑戰，但我們在越南的製造合作夥伴選擇留在現場以確保製造連續性，對於成功至關重要。雖然這個極具挑戰性的現場隔離期已於 10 月下旬結束，但我們承認我們團隊的應變能力、獨創性和對公司使命的難以置信的奉獻精神。憑藉我們全球員工的力量，我們繼續執行、戰略性地採購我們的材料清單並駕馭當前環境，如幻燈片 5 上的製造績效指標所反映的那樣。

While we've delivered against our near-term production commitments, travel and other COVID-19 restrictions have added constraints on getting third-party equipment installers as well as our U.S.-based associates into Malaysia and Vietnam to perform the planned product throughput and efficiency upgrades.

雖然我們已經兌現了近期的生產承諾，但旅行和其他 COVID-19 限制增加了第三方設備安裝商以及我們在美國的員工進入馬來西亞和越南以執行計劃的產品吞吐量和效率的限制升級。

We have continued to work with relevant agencies to support this essential travel in a safe manner. However, the timing of upgrading our last factory, Vietnam to Series 6 Plus, is now expected to be completed in Q2 of next year. While I will provide a holistic update on our CuRe program later in the call, the aforementioned factors have contributed to impact the implementation timing in Malaysia and Vietnam.

我們繼續與相關機構合作，以安全的方式支持這一必要的旅行。然而，將我們最後一家越南工廠升級到 Series 6 Plus 的時間預計將在明年第二季度完成。雖然我將在稍後的電話會議中提供有關我們治愈計劃的整體更新，但上述因素已經影響了馬來西亞和越南的實施時間。

Consistent with our expectation as of a prior earnings call, the ocean freight market globally has remained challenging due to ongoing port congestion, limited container availability, historically poor schedule reliability, higher fuel costs and other events. While shipping rates have increased since the July call, we had accounted for this expectation in our previous full year sales rate guidance, which remains unchanged.

與我們在之前的財報電話會議上的預期一致，由於港口持續擁堵、集裝箱供應有限、歷史上糟糕的時間表可靠性、更高的燃料成本和其他事件，全球海運市場仍然充滿挑戰。雖然自 7 月電話會議以來運費有所上漲，但我們在之前的全年銷售率指導中考慮了這一預期，該指導保持不變。

As highlighted on our prior earnings call, we continue to partially mitigate the effects of higher sales rate per watt through implementation and module -- improvements in module efficiency, implementation of Series 6 Plus, utilization of U.S. distribution network and freight-sharing contractual arrangements with our customers, which cover a portion of expected 2022 deliveries. Despite these mitigating factors, the challenging freight environment has adversely impacted our financial results. And while we have been able to maintain our global -- our module gross margin guidance for 2021, we expect freight costs to remain at current elevated levels into 2022.

正如我們之前的財報電話會議所強調的那樣，我們繼續通過實施和模塊來部分減輕更高的每瓦銷售率的影響——提高模塊效率、實施 Series 6 Plus、利用美國分銷網絡和與我們的客戶，其中包括預計 2022 年交付的一部分。儘管有這些緩解因素，但充滿挑戰的貨運環境對我們的財務業績產生了不利影響。雖然我們已經能夠維持我們的全球——我們對 2021 年模塊毛利率的指導，但我們預計到 2022 年運費成本將保持在目前的高水平。

I would next like to provide an update on our variable bill of material spend. Although spot prices for aluminum has continued to rise since the July earnings call, we have had a commodity swap contract in place which covers the majority of our U.S. consumption through Q4. Going forward and for our domestic and international manufacturing sites, we have several strategies and process to reduce framing costs in the near to mid-term.

接下來，我想提供有關我們可變物料清單支出的最新信息。儘管鋁的現貨價格自 7 月財報電話會議以來持續上漲，但我們已經簽訂了一份商品掉期合約，涵蓋了我們在第四季度之前的大部分美國消費量。展望未來，對於我們的國內和國際製造基地，我們有多種策略和流程來降低近期至中期的框架成本。

Firstly, by differentiating the frame design and reducing cost of modules installed in the interior versus exterior of the array; secondly, by optimizing the mounting interface of our next-generation module; and finally, evaluating alternative materials for construction of our frame.

首先，通過差異化框架設計並降低安裝在陣列內部與外部的模塊的成本；其次，通過優化我們下一代模塊的安裝接口；最後，評估用於構建我們框架的替代材料。

From a glass perspective, we have largely hedged this cost through long-term fixed price agreements with domestic suppliers that have volumetric pricing benefits as we achieve higher levels of production. While cost uncertainty remains for certain bill of material items, our targeted 3% cost per watt sold reduction, including sales rate between where we ended 2020 and expect to end 2021, is unchanged from the prior earnings call. As we mentioned, while sales rate remains at elevated in excess of pre-pandemic levels, we have accounted for this in our guidance update during the previous earnings call.

從玻璃的角度來看，我們通過與國內供應商的長期固定價格協議在很大程度上對沖了這一成本，隨著我們實現更高的生產水平，這些供應商具有批量定價優勢。雖然某些物料清單項目的成本不確定性仍然存在，但我們的目標每瓦銷售成本降低 3%，包括我們在 2020 年底和預計到 2021 年底之間的銷售率，與之前的財報電話會議相比沒有變化。正如我們所提到的，雖然銷售率仍然高於大流行前的水平，但我們在上次財報電話會議期間的指導更新中已經考慮到了這一點。

Regarding our end-of-year cost per watt produced target, we expect to face challenges primarily due to COVID-related delays impacting the start-up of a new glass cover factory to support our Malaysia and Vietnam factories. Additionally, we expect higher adhesive costs due to supply chain disruptions in China and a mix shift of production to higher-cost exterior modules to support projects in high wind zones.

關於我們的年末每瓦生產成本目標，我們預計將面臨挑戰，主要是由於與 COVID 相關的延誤影響了新玻璃蓋工廠的啟動，以支持我們的馬來西亞和越南工廠。此外，由於中國供應鏈中斷以及生產向成本更高的外部模塊的混合轉移以支持強風區的項目，我們預計粘合劑成本會上升。

As a result of these factors, our revised year-end cost per watt produce reduction target is 5% when compared to the prior year. Given the majority of modules produced during the fourth quarter are expected to be recognized as revenue next year, this cost per watt produced headwind is not expected to impact our 2021 P&L. In aggregate, despite these near-term cost pressures, our multiyear midterm targets to reduce Series 6 bill material costs by 20% to 25% remain on track.

由於這些因素，與上一年相比，我們修訂的年末每瓦生產成本降低目標為 5%。鑑於第四季度生產的大部分組件預計將在明年被確認為收入，預計這一逆風產生的每瓦成本不會影響我們的 2021 年損益表。總體而言，儘管存在這些近期成本壓力，但我們將第 6 輪票據材料成本降低 20% 至 25% 的多年中期目標仍有望實現。

In the United States, there are a number of items in the mix as it relates to industrial policy, trade policy and importation. While the outcome of these items remain uncertain, we continue to believe the Biden/Harris administration has a unique opportunity to produce a comprehensive strategy for solar, which could include a mix of manufacturing tax credits, an extension of the investment tax credit with the domestic content requirement and enforcement of responsible solar, among other strategies.

在美國，有許多與產業政策、貿易政策和進口相關的項目。雖然這些項目的結果仍然不確定，但我們仍然認為拜登/哈里斯政府有一個獨特的機會來製定太陽能綜合戰略，其中可能包括混合製造稅收抵免、擴大投資稅收抵免與國內內容要求和負責任太陽能的執行，以及其他策略。

Through a long-term strategic approach to policy, the administration has the opportunity to create an environment that not only helps secure America's sustainable energy future in a manner that reflects our country's values and principles, but also fosters innovation for the next generation of PV to be developed and manufactured in the United States. As it relates to trade policy, we continue to monitor developments related to the petition to extend Section 201 tariffs and to investigate whether certain solar manufacturers have circumvented antidumping and countervailing duties.

通過政策的長期戰略方法，政府有機會創造一個環境，不僅有助於以反映我們國家價值觀和原則的方式確保美國的可持續能源未來，而且促進下一代光伏的創新，以在美國開發和製造。由於它與貿易政策有關，我們將繼續關注與延長 201 節關稅的請願書相關的事態發展，並調查某些太陽能製造商是否規避了反傾銷和反補貼稅。

As it relates to importation, we have repeatedly and unequivocally condemn the reported use of forced labor in the crystalline silicon PV supply chain. We continue to do so as long as it remains an issue. During the previous earnings call, we indicated that the issue necessitates swift and resolute action, but also emphasize that it should present an impetus for the United States and like-minded nations to separate their climate goals from the over-reliance on one country and one PV technology. No country should be forced to choose between fighting climate change and standing up for its principles, such as safeguarding human rights, and securing this energy independence.

由於涉及進口，我們一再明確譴責在晶體矽光伏供應鏈中使用強迫勞動的報導。只要它仍然是一個問題，我們就會繼續這樣做。在上一次財報電話會議中，我們表示該問題需要採取迅速和果斷的行動，但也強調它應該推動美國和志同道合的國家將其氣候目標與過度依賴一個國家和一個國家區分開來光伏技術。任何國家都不應被迫在應對氣候變化和堅持其原則（例如保障人權和確保能源獨立）之間做出選擇。

While we acknowledge the challenges presented by the withhold release order issued by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in June of this year, there are practical commercial solutions to reduce the risk of purchasing modules associated with forced labor and uncertain trade policy outcomes. For example, one of our peers has recently established a vertically integrated supply chain from polysilicon to module assembly outside of China without direct or indirect ties to Xinjiang. While this is a small step and only impacts a portion of the overall operation, we believe it is a meaningful step in the right direction.

雖然我們承認今年 6 月美國海關和邊境保護局發布的扣留令帶來的挑戰，但有一些實用的商業解決方案可以降低購買與強迫勞動和不確定的貿易政策結果相關的模塊的風險。例如，我們的一位同行最近在中國境外建立了從多晶矽到模塊組裝的垂直整合供應鏈，與新疆沒有直接或間接聯繫。雖然這是一小步，僅影響整體運營的一部分，但我們相信這是朝著正確方向邁出的有意義的一步。

Two essential attributes of PV power plants are their environmental benefits and their 0 ongoing fuel consumption as compared to thermal generation. While the economic competitiveness of solar continues to drive an acceleration of global adoption, many international markets, including China, rely on coal firepower for the majority of their electricity generation.

與熱發電相比，光伏電站的兩個基本屬性是它們的環境效益和 0 持續燃料消耗。雖然太陽能的經濟競爭力繼續推動全球採用的加速，但包括中國在內的許多國際市場的大部分發電都依賴煤炭火力。

Due to supply chain challenges and geopolitical factors, China is experiencing a coal shortage that has resulted in higher energy prices and government-mandated power restrictions against parts of the manufacturing sector. Given the majority of global polysilicon capacity is located in Mainland China, higher coal costs, mandated reductions in energy consumption and reduced operating capacity have further exacerbated the supply and demand imbalance in the polysilicon market, contributing to an ongoing increase in pricing for both polysilicon and solar modules.

由於供應鏈挑戰和地緣政治因素，中國正經歷煤炭短缺，導致能源價格上漲和政府強制對部分製造業實行電力限制。鑑於全球多晶矽產能大部分位於中國大陸，煤炭成本上漲、強制降低能耗和產能減少進一步加劇了多晶矽市場的供需失衡，導致多晶矽和多晶矽價格持續上漲。太陽能模塊。

This, coupled with the challenging freight environment, has caused many Chinese-based manufacturers to prioritize availability of solar module supply to the local market where the major investors in utility-scale solar are the country's state-owned enterprises. This is yet another potent reminder of the risk of having climate goals tethered to supply chains that lead a single nation in the PV technology and demonstrates the irony of America's clean energy transition currently being hindered by reliance on coal to produce crystalline silicon solar modules.

再加上充滿挑戰的貨運環境，許多中國製造商優先考慮向當地市場供應太陽能組件，因為公用事業規模太陽能的主要投資者是該國的國有企業。這又一次有力地提醒人們將氣候目標與引領單一國家光伏技術的供應鏈掛鉤的風險，並表明美國清潔能源轉型目前因依賴煤炭生產晶體矽太陽能組件而受到阻礙的諷刺意味。

Turning to Slide 6. I'll next discuss our most recent bookings in greater detail. We had a good quarter with bookings of 1.5 gigawatts since the previous earnings call. After accounting for shipments of approximately 2.1 gigawatts during the third quarter, our future expected shipments, which extended into 2024 are 16.5 gigawatts. Including our year-to-date bookings, we are sold out for 2022, at 4.2 gigawatts of planned deliveries in 2023 and 0.3 gigawatts in 2024.

轉到幻燈片 6。接下來我將更詳細地討論我們最近的預訂。自上次財報電話會議以來，我們的季度業績不錯，預訂量為 1.5 吉瓦。在考慮到第三季度約 2.1 吉瓦的出貨量後，我們未來預計到 2024 年的出貨量為 16.5 吉瓦。包括我們年初至今的預訂，我們在 2022 年售罄，2023 年的計劃交付量為 4.2 吉瓦，2024 年為 0.3 吉瓦。

While our energy quality and environmental advantages are all key differentiators, customers have been placing a premium on our vertically integrated manufacturing process, supply chain transparency and 0 tolerance for the use of forced labor in our supply chain. We are seeing our value proposition drive interest in multiyear framework agreements.

雖然我們的能源質量和環境優勢都是關鍵差異化因素，但客戶一直非常重視我們的垂直整合製造流程、供應鏈透明度和對供應鏈中使用強迫勞動的零容忍。我們看到我們的價值主張推動了對多年框架協議的興趣。

With a robust and several active negotiations with customers in the United States and India for multiyear and multi-gigawatt agreements, we are pleased with the robust demand for our CadTel technology. At the time of our previous earnings call, we had indicated the ASP across our volume for potential deliveries in 2023 was 1% lower than the volume to be shipped in 2022. Including our incremental bookings since the previous earnings call, our 2023 ASP is largely unchanged.

通過與美國和印度的客戶就多年期和數千兆瓦的協議進行了多次積極的談判，我們對 CadTel 技術的強勁需求感到滿意。在我們之前的財報電話會議上，我們曾表示 2023 年潛在交付量的 ASP 比 2022 年的出貨量低 1%。包括我們自上次財報電話會議以來的增量預訂，我們 2023 年的 ASP 在很大程度上是不變。

In summary, we have seen a significant increase in the desire to work with First Solar due to our differentiated value proposition of more value with less work. While many of our crystalline silicon competitors have reportedly canceled deliveries, have prioritized shipments into the domestic Chinese market and have openly requested price increases and delayed shipments, we, however, continue to stand behind our contractual commitments.

總而言之，我們看到與 First Solar 合作的願望顯著增加，這是由於我們以更少的工作獲得更多價值的差異化價值主張。據報導，儘管我們的許多晶體矽競爭對手已取消交貨，優先向中國國內市場發貨，並公開要求漲價和延遲發貨，但我們仍繼續遵守我們的合同承諾。

With this backdrop in mind, we are seeing bookings momentum with customers who value our technology advantages, the benefits of domestically produced product and our responsible solar principles.

考慮到這一背景，我們看到客戶的預訂勢頭強勁，他們重視我們的技術優勢、國產產品的優勢和我們負責任的太陽能原則。

Additionally, as reflected on Slide 7, our pipeline of future opportunities also remains robust. Our total bookings opportunities is 45 gigawatts, with 21 gigawatts in mid- to late-stage customer engagement. Note, our capacity expansion in India and the related increase in available supply to meet projected domestic demand has increased our bookings opportunity in India to over 17 gigawatts, a 10 gigawatt increase since our Q2 earnings call.

此外，正如幻燈片 7 所反映的，我們未來的機會渠道也依然強勁。我們的總預訂機會為 45 吉瓦，其中 21 吉瓦用於中後期客戶參與。請注意，我們在印度的產能擴張以及為滿足預計的國內需求而增加的可用供應量使我們在印度的預訂機會增加到超過 17 吉瓦，自我們第二季度的財報電話會議以來增加了 10 吉瓦。

Before turning the call over to Alex, I would like to provide an update on our technology road map. Looking forward, CuRe represents an anticipated enhancement to our module performance, which is expected to increase efficiency and reduce long-term degradation. On the April earnings call, we indicated the CuRe lead line implementation was anticipated by Q4 of 2021 and fleet-wide by the end of Q1 2022.

在將電話轉給 Alex 之前，我想提供有關我們技術路線圖的更新。展望未來，CuRe 代表了我們模塊性能的預期增強，有望提高效率並減少長期退化。在 4 月的財報電話會議上，我們表示預計到 2021 年第四季度和 2022 年第一季度末在整個車隊範圍內實施 CuRe 鉛線。

On the July call, we indicated CuRe implementation in Vietnam required international travel from third-party equipment installers as well as our U.S.-based associates. Regarding Malaysia, we were in the process of implementing the required CuRe upgrades, but not all have been completed as of the end of the July call.

在 7 月的電話會議上，我們表示在越南實施 CuRe 需要第三方設備安裝商以及我們在美國的員工的國際旅行。關於馬來西亞，我們正在實施所需的治愈升級，但截至 7 月底，並非所有升級都已完成。

In July through September, COVID-19 cases began to significantly increase as the Delta variant spread and government restrictions were put in place in parts of Southeast Asia. As it relates to our CuRe development program, we have demonstrated the product's full performance entitlement in a lab setting and are currently working to translate this potential into high-volume production in Ohio. While this trend for improving module wattage and degradation appears favorable, we are still working to realize the full performance entitlement in high-volume manufacturing conditions.

從 7 月到 9 月，隨著 Delta 變種的傳播以及東南亞部分地區實施政府限制措施，COVID-19 病例開始顯著增加。由於它與我們的 CuRe 開發計劃有關，我們已經在實驗室環境中展示了該產品的全部性能權利，目前正在努力將這種潛力轉化為俄亥俄州的大批量生產。雖然這種提高模塊功率和退化的趨勢似乎是有利的，但我們仍在努力實現大批量製造條件下的全部性能權利。

We are continuing to refine our production parameters in order to bridge this gap relative to the program objectives for CuRe. As a result of the aforementioned challenges, our integration schedule is delayed and we have revised our integration schedule to the lead line implementation by the end of Q1 2022. Fleet-wide replication timing will be determined upon completion of implementation of the lead line and factory equipment upgrades required for CuRe.

我們將繼續完善我們的生產參數，以彌合與 CuRe 計劃目標相關的這一差距。由於上述挑戰，我們的整合時間表被推遲，我們已將整合時間表修改為到 2022 年第一季度末實施引線。全機隊複製時間將在引線和工廠實施完成後確定CuRe 所需的設備升級。

While CuRe has been delayed, this presents a window of opportunity to leverage the optionality in our technology road map and demonstrate the resiliency of our vertically integrated manufacturing process. Through product enhancements to our current Series 6 technology, we have increased our top production bin to 465 watts, which represents a 19% glass area efficiency and produced over 125 megawatts with 460-watt modules during October.

雖然 CuRe 已被推遲，但這為利用我們技術路線圖中的可選性並展示我們垂直整合製造工藝的彈性提供了機會之窗。通過對我們當前的 6 系列技術進行產品改進，我們將頂級生產箱增加到 465 瓦，這代表了 19% 的玻璃面積效率，並在 10 月份使用 460 瓦模塊生產了超過 125 兆瓦的功率。

In addition to improved efficiency in module wattage, Series 6 is expected to have a significantly improved long-term degradation rate. Using improved metrology to measure degradation at our test sites and further validate by third-party analytical methods and customer site data, the current Series 6 platform is expected to have a 30-year degradation rate of 0.3% per year, which is 40% below our previous expectation.

除了提高模塊瓦數的效率外，Series 6 還有望顯著提高長期退化率。使用改進的計量技術來測量我們測試站點的退化，並通過第三方分析方法和客戶站點數據進一步驗證，目前的 Series 6 平台預計 30 年的退化率為每年 0.3%，低於 40%我們之前的預期。

While the improved Series 6 nameplate wattage is in line with our target to exit 2021 with a top production bin of 460 to 465 watts, its energy performance, including a slightly higher long-term degradation rate and higher temperature coefficient is below the expected performance of CuRe.

雖然改進後的 Series 6 銘牌瓦數符合我們在 2021 年退出的目標，最高產量為 460 至 465 瓦，但其能源性能（包括略高的長期降解率和更高的溫度係數）低於預期的性能治愈。

In connection with our CuRe obligation starting in Q1 of next year, we have either amended or will endeavor to amend certain customer contracts utilizing CuRe technology by substituting our Enhanced Series 6 product. In connection with these customer contract amendments, we may make certain price concessions. We currently estimate that the price concessions that we will potentially will make across the impact of customer contracts will not exceed approximately $100 million of 2022 revenue.

關於我們從明年第一季度開始的 CuRe 義務，我們已經修改或將努力修改某些使用 CuRe 技術的客戶合同，替換我們的增強型系列 6 產品。就這些客戶合同修訂而言，我們可能會做出某些價格讓步。我們目前估計，在客戶合同的影響下，我們可能做出的價格讓步將不會超過 2022 年收入的約 1 億美元。

Despite these challenges, we are encouraged by the promise of CuRe technology. Through the relentless focus and persistence of our manufacturing technology teams, we believe CuRe's performance on the manufacturing line will continue to improve. We will discuss the full year 2022 impacts during our fourth quarter earnings call.

儘管存在這些挑戰，但我們對 CuRe 技術的前景感到鼓舞。通過我們製造技術團隊的不懈專注和堅持，我們相信CuRe在生產線上的表現將繼續提升。我們將在第四季度財報電話會議上討論 2022 年全年的影響。

I'll now turn the call over to Alex, who will discuss our third quarter financial and 2021 guidance.

我現在將電話轉給亞歷克斯，他將討論我們的第三季度財務和 2021 年指導。

Thanks, Mark. Starting on Slide 8, I'll cover the income statement highlights for the third quarter.

謝謝，馬克。從幻燈片 8 開始，我將介紹第三季度的損益表亮點。

Net sales in Q3 were $584 million, a decrease of $46 million compared to the prior quarter. The decrease in net sales was primarily due to lower systems segment revenue, which was partially offset by an increase in module segment revenue. On a segment basis, our module segment revenue in Q3 was $563 million compared to $543 million in the prior quarter.

第三季度的淨銷售額為 5.84 億美元，與上一季度相比減少了 4600 萬美元。淨銷售額的下降主要是由於系統部門收入下降，部分被模塊部門收入的增加所抵消。在細分市場的基礎上，我們在第三季度的模塊業務收入為 5.63 億美元，而上一季度為 5.43 億美元。

Systems segment gross margin in Q3 was $6 million, which was largely driven by a favorable settlement related to a legacy systems project. Module segment gross margin was 21% in Q3 compared to 20% in Q2. There are several positive and negative factors that impacted this Q3 result.

第三季度系統部門的毛利率為 600 萬美元，這主要是由與遺留系統項目相關的有利結算推動的。第三季度模塊部門毛利率為 21%，而第二季度為 20%。有幾個積極和消極因素影響了第三季度的結果。

Firstly, we recorded a reduction in our product warranty liability, which was primarily due to lower claims than previously estimated for our Series 2 and Series 6 modules. This resulted in a $33 million reduction of our warranty liability, a corresponding benefit to cost of sales. Secondly, certain of our legacy module sale agreements are covered by a collection and recycling program or a corresponding expense to the estimated future cost of our obligation was recognized at the time of sale. During Q3, we recognized an $11 million increase in our module collection and recycling liability due to changes in the expected value of certain recycling byproducts.

首先，我們記錄了產品保修責任的減少，這主要是由於我們的系列 2 和系列 6 模塊的索賠低於先前估計的。這導致我們的保修責任減少了 3300 萬美元，相應地降低了銷售成本。其次，我們的某些遺留模塊銷售協議包含在收集和回收計劃中，或者我們義務的估計未來成本的相應費用在銷售時確認。在第三季度，由於某些回收副產品的預期價值發生變化，我們的組件收集和回收責任增加了 1100 萬美元。

Thirdly, as mentioned, we're in the process of implementing factory upgrades in 2021, which requires downtime resulting in lower production and underutilization. In Q3, our module segment gross margin was impacted by $6 million of underutilization. On a net basis, these factors increased module segment gross margin dollars and percent by $16 million and 3 percentage points, respectively.

第三，如前所述，我們正在 2021 年實施工廠升級，這需要停機導致產量下降和利用率不足。在第三季度，我們的模塊部門毛利率受到 600 萬美元未充分利用的影響。在淨額基礎上，這些因素使模塊部門的毛利率和百分比分別增加了 1600 萬美元和 3 個百分點。

Separately, whilst we continue to navigate and partially mitigate the effects of the dislocated shipping market, higher freight costs impacted our financial results for the quarter. In Q3, sales rate totaled approximately $67 million. Along with module warranty expense of approximately $1 million, sales rate and warranty reduced our module segment gross margin by approximately 12 percentage points. And note, as a reminder, many of our module peers report freight cost as a separate operating expense. For comparison purposes, we encourage you to consider this factor when benchmarking our module gross margin relative to our peers.

另外，雖然我們繼續駕馭並部分減輕航運市場錯位的影響，但更高的運費成本影響了我們本季度的財務業績。第三季度，銷售額總計約為 6700 萬美元。除了約 100 萬美元的模塊保修費用外，銷售率和保修使我們的模塊部門毛利率降低了約 12 個百分點。請注意，提醒一下，我們的許多模塊同行將運費成本報告為單獨的運營費用。出於比較目的，我們鼓勵您在對我們的模塊毛利率與同行進行基準比較時考慮這一因素。

SG&A and R&D expenses totaled $69 million in the third quarter, an increase of approximately $9 million compared to the prior quarter. This increase was primarily driven by a $3 million impairment charge related to a certain project development in Japan, $2 million increase in R&D expense predominantly related to CuRe testing and a lower net benefit of $2 million from reductions to our expected credit losses in Q3 as compared to Q2.

第三季度的 SG&A 和研發費用總計 6900 萬美元，與上一季度相比增加了約 900 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於與日本某個項目開發相關的 300 萬美元減值費用、主要與 CuRe 測試相關的研發費用增加 200 萬美元以及我們在第三季度的預期信用損失減少而產生的 200 萬美元的淨收益較低。到 Q2。

Production startup, which is included in operating expenses, totaled $3 million in Q3 compared to $2 million in the prior quarter. Q3 operating income was $51 million, which included depreciation and amortization of $66 million, $9 million related to underutilization and production start-up expense and share-based compensation of $6 million.

包含在運營費用中的生產啟動在第三季度總計 300 萬美元，而上一季度為 200 萬美元。第三季度營業收入為 5100 萬美元，其中包括 6600 萬美元的折舊和攤銷、900 萬美元與未充分利用和生產啟動費用相關的費用以及 600 萬美元的股份補償。

Recorded tax expense of $1 million in the third quarter compared to $20 million in Q2. Decrease in tax expense for Q3 is driven largely by lower pretax income, a shift in our jurisdictional mix of income and lower estimated taxes in certain jurisdictions. And the combination of the aforementioned items led to third quarter earnings per share of $0.42 and $3.16 for the first 3 quarters of 2021 on a diluted basis.

第三季度記錄的稅收支出為 100 萬美元，而第二季度為 2000 萬美元。第三季度稅收支出的減少主要是由於稅前收入減少、我們管轄區收入組合的轉變以及某些管轄區的估計稅降低。上述項目的組合導致 2021 年前三個季度的第三季度每股收益為 0.42 美元和 3.16 美元（攤薄後）。

Next, turn to Slide 9 to discuss balance sheet items and summary cash flow information. Our cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash balance ended the quarter at $1.9 billion, a decrease of $111 million compared to the prior quarter.

接下來，轉到幻燈片 9 討論資產負債表項目和匯總現金流信息。截至本季度末，我們的現金、現金等價物、有價證券和受限現金餘額為 19 億美元，與上一季度相比減少了 1.11 億美元。

There are several factors impacting our quarter end cash balance. Firstly, in Q1, we sold certain marketable securities associated with our module collection and recycling program for total proceeds of $259 million, which were presented as restricted cash on our balance sheet and were therefore included in our measure of total cash at the end of Q1 and 2. During Q3, these proceeds were reinvested and are now represented on our balance sheet as restricted marketable securities which are not included in our measure of total cash.

有幾個因素會影響我們的季度末現金餘額。首先，在第一季度，我們出售了與我們的模塊收集和回收計劃相關的某些有價證券，總收益為 2.59 億美元，在我們的資產負債表上作為受限現金列示，因此包含在我們在第一季度末的總現金計量中2. 在第三季度，這些收益進行了再投資，現在在我們的資產負債表上作為受限制的有價證券表示，不包括在我們對總現金的衡量中。

Secondly, net cash generated by operating activities was $305 million, which included collection of proceeds from a $65 million settlement agreement related to a legacy systems project that was reached in Q2. Finally, this was offset by capital expenditures of $165 million during Q3.

其次，經營活動產生的淨現金為 3.05 億美元，其中包括從與第二季度達成的遺留系統項目相關的 6500 萬美元和解協議中收取的收益。最後，這被第三季度 1.65 億美元的資本支出所抵消。

Total debt at the end of the third quarter was $279 million, which was consistent with the prior quarter. As a reminder, all of our outstanding debt continues to be project-related and will come off our balance sheet when the corresponding project is sold.

第三季度末總債務為 2.79 億美元，與上一季度持平。提醒一下，我們所有的未償債務仍然與項目相關，並且會在相應項目出售時從我們的資產負債表中扣除。

Our net cash position, which includes cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities less debt, decreased by $111 million to $1.7 billion as a result of the aforementioned factors. Net working capital in Q3, which includes noncurrent project assets and excludes cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, decreased by $296 million compared to the prior quarter. And this decrease was primarily driven by a reduction in accounts receivable related to the aforementioned settlement agreement, collection of receivables related to prior project sales.

由於上述因素，我們的淨現金頭寸（包括現金、現金等價物、受限現金和有價證券減去債務）減少了 1.11 億美元至 17 億美元。第三季度的淨營運資本（包括非流動項目資產，不包括現金、現金等價物、有價證券）與上一季度相比減少了 2.96 億美元。而這一減少主要是由於與上述結算協議相關的應收賬款減少，與前期項目銷售相關的應收賬款的收回。

Net cash generated by operating activities of $305 million in the third quarter compared to $177 million in the prior quarter, and capital expenditures were $165 million in the third quarter compared to $91 million in the prior quarter.

第三季度經營活動產生的淨現金為 3.05 億美元，上一季度為 1.77 億美元，第三季度資本支出為 1.65 億美元，上一季度為 9100 萬美元。

Continuing on Slide 10, I'll discuss 2021 guidance. In comparison to our initial expectations coming into 2021, our year-to-date performance reflects the strength of the business model, but also tremendous execution during the course of the year. While the effects of higher freight costs were partially offset by the aforementioned settlement related to our legacy systems project, our current earnings per share guidance is largely within the range we provided during the February earnings call.

繼續幻燈片 10，我將討論 2021 年指南。與我們對 2021 年的最初預期相比，我們年初至今的表現既反映了商業模式的實力，也反映了這一年中的巨大執行力。雖然運費成本上漲的影響部分被上述與我們的遺留系統項目相關的和解所抵消，但我們目前的每股收益指引在很大程度上處於我們在 2 月份財報電話會議期間提供的範圍內。

Relative to year-to-date EPS of $3.16 to $4.30 midpoint of our current full year guidance implies fourth quarter EPS of $1.14 compared to $0.42 in the third quarter. There are several factors driving this quarter-over-quarter increase in earnings per share and our ability to reiterate our full year 2021 EPS guidance.

相對於我們當前全年指導的中點 3.16 美元至 4.30 美元的年初至今每股收益意味著第四季度每股收益為 1.14 美元，而第三季度為 0.42 美元。有幾個因素推動了本季度每股收益的環比增長，以及我們重申我們 2021 年全年每股收益指導的能力。

Firstly, approximately 820 megawatts of modules remained in transit at quarter end and were not recognized as revenue during Q3. While extended transit times impacted our Q3 results, we anticipate a significant portion of these modules will be recognized as revenue in early Q4. Driven by a strong start to the fourth quarter, we anticipate an increase in module volume sold during Q4.

首先，大約 820 兆瓦的組件在季度末仍在運輸中，在第三季度沒有被確認為收入。雖然延長的運輸時間影響了我們的第三季度業績，但我們預計這些模塊中的很大一部分將在第四季度初被確認為收入。在第四季度強勁開局的推動下，我們預計第四季度的組件銷量將會增加。

Secondly, while freight costs in Q4 are expected to remain above pre-pandemic levels, we had accounted for this expectation and the guidance we provided on the July earnings call. As a result, our sales rate guidance for full year 2021 of 10 to 11 percentage points of gross margin -- module gross margin remains unchanged.

其次，雖然第四季度的貨運成本預計將保持在大流行前的水平之上，但我們已經考慮了這一預期以及我們在 7 月財報電話會議上提供的指導。因此，我們對 2021 年全年的銷售率指導為毛利率的 10 至 11 個百分點——模塊毛利率保持不變。

Thirdly, we remain on track to complete the sale of certain Japanese systems projects in Q4, contributing to an expected increase in Systems segment revenue and gross margin compared to Q3. So with that context, I'll next discuss the updated guidance ranges in some more detail.

第三，我們仍有望在第四季度完成某些日本系統項目的銷售，與第三季度相比，預計系統部門的收入和毛利率有所增加。因此，在這種情況下，我接下來將更詳細地討論更新的指導範圍。

Our revenue gross margin guidance remain unchanged. And note that our gross margin continues to include the impact of $61 million to $66 million of ramp and utilization and reduced throughput costs. SG&A and R&D expenses of $265 million to $275 million, production start-up expense of $20 million to $25 million and operating expenses of $285 million to $300 million are unchanged. Our operating income guidance range of $545 million to $625 million is unchanged and includes anticipated depreciation and amortization of $258 million, share-based compensation of $21 million, $61 million to $66 million related to ramp on utilization, reduced throughput and production start-up expense, and a gain on the sale of our U.S. project development in North American O&M businesses of approximately $150 million. Our full year 2021 EPS guidance also remains unchanged.

我們的收入毛利率指引保持不變。請注意，我們的毛利率繼續包括 6100 萬至 6600 萬美元的坡道和利用率以及降低的吞吐量成本的影響。 SG&A 和研發費用為 2.65 億美元至 2.75 億美元，生產啟動費用為 2000 萬美元至 2500 萬美元，運營費用為 2.85 億美元至 3 億美元不變。我們 5.45 億美元至 6.25 億美元的營業收入指導範圍保持不變，包括 2.58 億美元的預期折舊和攤銷、2100 萬美元的股份補償、6100 萬美元至 6600 萬美元與利用率提升、吞吐量減少和生產啟動費用有關，以及出售我們在北美 O&M 業務中的美國項目開發的收益約 1.5 億美元。我們的 2021 年全年每股收益指引也保持不變。

Our capital expenditure guidance is $675 million to $725 million, which represents a $150 million decrease relative to our previous expectations. And this is primarily related to the expected timing of certain factory upgrades. Our year-end 2021 net cash balance is anticipated to be between $1.45 billion and $1.55 billion. This $100 million increase relative to our previous expectations is primarily due to the reduction in our CapEx guidance. And lastly, our shipment guidance of 7.6 to 8 gigawatts is unchanged.

我們的資本支出指導為 6.75 億美元至 7.25 億美元，相對於我們之前的預期減少了 1.5 億美元。這主要與某些工廠升級的預期時間有關。我們 2021 年年底的淨現金餘額預計在 14.5 億美元至 15.5 億美元之間。相對於我們之前的預期，這 1 億美元的增長主要是由於我們降低了資本支出指導。最後，我們 7.6 至 8 吉瓦的出貨指導保持不變。

Turning to Slide 11, I'll summarize key messages from the call. From a financial perspective, we delivered year-to-date EPS of $3.16. Our full year 2021 EPS guidance is unchanged, and our net cash position of $1.7 billion remains strong.

轉到幻燈片 11，我將總結通話中的關鍵信息。從財務角度來看，我們年初至今的每股收益為 3.16 美元。我們的 2021 年全年每股收益指引保持不變，我們 17 億美元的淨現金頭寸依然強勁。

From a manufacturing perspective, we produced over 2 gigawatts despite the challenging COVID-19 environment, increased our top production bin to 465 watts and have revised our CuRe implementation schedule. And finally, Series 6 demand remains at record levels with 10.5 gigawatts of year-to-date net bookings, which includes 1.5 gigawatts since the previous earnings call.

從製造的角度來看，儘管 COVID-19 環境充滿挑戰，我們仍生產了超過 2 吉瓦的電力，將我們的頂級生產箱增加到 465 瓦，並修改了我們的 CuRe 實施計劃。最後，系列 6 的需求保持在創紀錄的水平，年初至今的淨預訂量為 10.5 吉瓦，其中包括自上次財報電話會議以來的 1.5 吉瓦。

With that, we conclude our prepared remarks and open the call for questions. Operator?

至此，我們結束準備好的發言並開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Philip Shen with ROTH Capital Partners.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自羅思資本的 Philip Shen。

I have 3 groups of questions. The first one is around bookings and pricing. I was wondering if you could provide a little bit more color on that. Looking ahead, do you expect to accelerate or perhaps slow down bookings to maximize price? And then are you looking to make any changes to the way you structure your contracts so you can maximize your pricing? Number 2 here, as it relates to the reconciliation bill, you have the $0.04 per watt thin film sell credit, but then there's also the $0.07 module credit for the manufacturing production tax credit. Can you talk about -- do you think you get both added together? Or do you think one or the other?

我有 3 組問題。第一個是關於預訂和定價。我想知道你是否可以提供更多的顏色。展望未來，您是否希望加快或減慢預訂以實現價格最大化？然後，您是否希望對構建合同的方式進行任何更改，以便最大限度地提高定價？這裡的第 2 號，因為它與對帳單有關，你有每瓦 0.04 美元的薄膜銷售抵免額，但還有用於製造生產稅收抵免的 0.07 美元的模塊抵免額。你能談談 - 你認為你把兩者加在一起了嗎？還是您認為其中之一？

And then finally, as it relates to capacity expansion, maybe talk to us about how you're thinking about it? And do you need that reconciliation bill before you guys think about the next leg of capacity in Ohio or elsewhere in the U.S. and what conditions in general you think you might need to announce another capacity expansion?

最後，因為它涉及到產能擴張，也許和我們談談你是怎麼想的？在你們考慮俄亥俄州或美國其他地方的下一站產能之前，你們是否需要這份和解法案？一般來說，你們認為可能需要宣布另一次產能擴張的條件是什麼？

All right. Thanks, Phil. I'll try to hit on all 3 of those. In terms of bookings -- and first of all, what I'd like to say about the bookings, if you look at our pipeline of opportunities that we highlighted in the presentation, we effectively -- if you look at our mid- to late-stage opportunities have doubled. I think our last quarter, we were right around 9 gigawatts, now we're sitting at 21 gigawatts, so more than double that. And we've almost tripled the opportunities that we have in the U.S. last quarter, we were 6 and change on the U.S. for mid- to late-stage in this quarter, we're sitting north of 18.

好的。謝謝，菲爾。我會嘗試所有這三個。在預訂方面——首先，我想對預訂說些什麼，如果你看看我們在演示文稿中強調的機會管道，我們實際上——如果你看看我們的中後期-舞台機會增加了一倍。我認為我們的上個季度大約是 9 吉瓦，現在我們坐在 21 吉瓦，所以是兩倍多。我們上個季度在美國擁有的機會幾乎增加了兩倍，我們是 6 歲，在本季度中後期在美國發生了變化，我們坐在 18 歲以北。

So I feel really good about the robustness and the opportunity for us. And then what's encouraging, I sort of somewhat indicated in my prepared remarks is that these are multiyear agreements, multi-gigawatt agreements, a number of them are. And we are working a framework there that has construct that allows for optionality in our road map to make sure that we can be monetized.

所以我對我們的穩健性和機會感覺非常好。然後令人鼓舞的是，我在準備好的評論中有點表示，這些是多年期協議，數千兆瓦協議，其中一些是。我們正在那裡建立一個框架，該框架允許在我們的路線圖中具有可選性，以確保我們可以貨幣化。

So we talked on the last call, for example, that we are looking to now enable bifaciality for CadTel. So to the extent that we do that, then there's a predetermined value lever that is associated with that bifaciality and then it drives to accretion to the ASP. There's other components in there that are structured such that for domestic content requirements that may evolve with the ITC, there's an associated value lever associated with that.

例如，我們在上次電話會議中談到，我們現在希望為 CadTel 啟用雙面功能。因此，就我們這樣做的程度而言，有一個與該雙面性相關的預定價值槓桿，然後它會推動 ASP 的增長。那裡還有其他組件的結構，因此對於可能隨 ITC 發展的國內內容要求，有一個相關的價值槓桿與之相關。

So I'm really happy with the engagement that we're seeing right now, not only here in the U.S., but obviously, in India. I mean, to have a 17 gigawatts of opportunities in India already just after only a little over a quarter or so since we've announced the factory expansion. It's really nice to see that level of engagement, involvement and robustness that we have for our India factory.

因此，我對我們現在看到的參與感到非常滿意，不僅在美國，而且顯然在印度。我的意思是，自從我們宣布工廠擴建以來，僅僅過了四分之一左右，就已經在印度擁有了 17 吉瓦的機會。很高興看到我們對印度工廠的參與度、參與度和穩健性。

So we are encouraged. We are also -- I would say that the sales cycle customer engagement is probably a little bit longer, partly because we are looking multi-years out into the horizon, and we're also trying to create the optionality, and we're also trying to make sure we've got good visibility with all the various levers that could come into the mix, whether it's tariff trade policies, whether it's industrial policies, we want to make sure that we have clarity around some of those levers as we start to enter into some of these contracts.

所以我們受到鼓勵。我們也是——我會說銷售週期客戶參與可能會更長一些，部分原因是我們正在展望未來多年，我們也在努力創造可選性，我們也在努力確保我們對可能進入組合的所有各種槓桿都有良好的可見性，無論是關稅貿易政策，還是產業政策，我們都希望在開始時確保我們對其中一些槓桿有清晰的認識簽訂其中一些合同。

Encouraged by the pricing. If you look at where we are and how pricing is firming up here in the U.S. And even what we're seeing in India is it becomes more of a domestic manufacturing market, we're encouraged by what we're seeing there as well. So all that, I would say, put us very positive and trending in the right direction.

受到定價的鼓舞。如果你看看我們在哪裡，以及美國的定價是如何走強的。即使我們在印度看到的是它更像是一個國內製造市場，我們也對我們在那裡看到的情況感到鼓舞。所以，我想說，所有這一切都讓我們非常積極並朝著正確的方向發展。

The reconciliation bill and in particular, the manufacturing tax credit, the spirit and the intent of that has been to be additive. So the components are additive. We -- there has been some additional clarifying language that, I believe, was push forward in a manager's amendment yesterday to make sure there is clarity that it is additive. We believe it's additive for the cell and module level at a minimum and is being evaluated whether potentially could be additive beyond that.

和解法案，特別是製造業稅收抵免，其精神和意圖是具有附加性的。所以這些成分是添加劑。我們 - 我相信，昨天在經理的修正案中推進了一些額外的澄清性語言，以確保明確它是附加的。我們認為它至少對電池和模塊水平具有附加性，並且正在評估是否可能具有附加性。

So we're encouraged by that. We think the bill is structured in a way that it will provide the domestic capability that we need to ensure our self-reliance and long-term energy independence and security. So that's obviously moving in the right direction. That's still -- a long way still to go to get it all the way over the finish line, but the way it's constructed right now, we're very encouraged by them. And we think it will enable the long-term strategic objectives we need as a nation.

所以我們對此感到鼓舞。我們認為該法案的結構將提供我們需要的國內能力，以確保我們的自力更生以及長期的能源獨立和安全。所以這顯然是朝著正確的方向發展。那仍然 - 要讓它一直越過終點線還有很長的路要走，但它現在的構造方式，我們非常受到他們的鼓舞。我們認為它將實現我們作為一個國家所需的長期戰略目標。

Capacity expansion, Phil, we're -- we've already been working with our tool suppliers. We kind of got them on this 6-month window. We've got Perrysburg expansion first and then 6 months later, the India expansion, and then we've already been working with them to think through another factory within 6 months after that, which would effectively say that we could bring another factory online sometime early 2024, depending on where it could be, it could be here in the U.S., it could be in India, it could be somewhere else. But we are trying to make sure that we have that forward visibility of what we're looking for in ensuring that, that capability will be there if we made the decision to expand beyond our current commitments on capacity.

產能擴張，菲爾，我們已經在與我們的工具供應商合作。我們有點讓他們在這個 6 個月的窗口。我們先是 Perrysburg 的擴張，然後是 6 個月後的印度擴張，然後我們已經與他們合作，在那之後的 6 個月內考慮另一家工廠，這實際上意味著我們可以在某個時候讓另一家工廠上線2024 年初，取決於它可能在哪裡，它可能在美國，可能在印度，也可能在其他地方。但是我們正在努力確保我們對我們正在尋找的東西具有前瞻性的可見性，以確保如果我們決定擴大超出我們目前的能力承諾，這種能力就會存在。

So the only other thing I'd add is that we talked about the potential for putting some debt on the balance sheet associated with the additional factories we're looking at right now. Given the policy environment we're seeing, the ASP environment we're seeing, if we added additional capacity, that would obviously be very cash-generative, but there may be a bridge where that would be helpful in terms of the timing of CapEx, let's say, with those new factories before they came online. So as we think about the balance sheet and how we look at funding the amount of capacity already, that might impact how we look at it, depending on whether we see the possibility for additional capacity to be on the currently announced factories.

所以我要補充的唯一另一件事是，我們談到了在資產負債表上增加一些債務的可能性，這些債務與我們現在正在研究的其他工廠相關。鑑於我們所看到的政策環境、我們所看到的 ASP 環境，如果我們增加額外的產能，這顯然會產生非常大的現金收益，但在資本支出的時機方面可能會有一座橋樑，比方說，在那些新工廠上線之前。因此，當我們考慮資產負債表以及我們如何看待已經為產能提供資金時，這可能會影響我們如何看待它，這取決於我們是否認為當前宣布的工廠有可能增加產能。

Your next question comes from the line of Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

Just to follow up on Phil's questions. First off, just looking at the year, the guidance, just confidence on shipments in 4Q? I know you said there was some already slipping from 3Q to 4Q. But just what are you seeing in port congestion, just the ability to deliver all together. I'll leave it open-ended. I know there's a lot of different pieces there, but clearly, you're saying you've got some amount of visibility and confidence there.

只是為了跟進菲爾的問題。首先，只看年份，指導，只是對 4Q 出貨量的信心？我知道你說從第三季度到第四季度已經有一些下滑。但是，您在港口擁堵中所看到的，只是一起交付的能力。我會留下開放式的。我知道那裡有很多不同的部分，但很明顯，你是說你在那裡有一定的知名度和信心。

And then separately, I'll throw them all together here for ease of just going on the list. Coming back to the ability to qualify for certain subsidies here, how are you thinking about PLI in India just as far as that goes in qualifying specifically for your expansion? And then lastly, any commentary on pricing, specifically on '23. Again, I know that you just asked a little bit on maximizing it, but just aggregate level, how much -- what trends are we seeing here on '23 and especially '24 as you start to see some of this backfilled and potentially contemplate ITC, et cetera?

然後分開，我將把它們放在一起，以便於進入列表。回到這裡有資格獲得某些補貼的能力，您如何看待印度的 PLI，就專門為您的擴張而設的資格而言？最後，關於定價的任何評論，特別是關於 '23 的評論。再說一次，我知道你只是問了一點關於最大化它的問題，但只是總體水平，多少——我們在 23 年特別是 24 年看到了什麼趨勢，因為你開始看到一些回填並可能考慮 ITC ，等等？

Julien, I start on the shipment fee. So I would say we're seeing poor congestion and general issues in the shipping market be as bad today as we've seen them. So I don't see any improvement if you look at the cost of sales rate we indicated for the quarter, that's still raised. I would say, though, that absent -- we still see some issues around blank sailings. In general, I have good confidence in our shipment numbers for the year. The delta comes a little bit in how much will that will be put through the P&L in terms of revenue recognized.

朱利安，我從運費開始。所以我想說，我們看到今天航運市場的擁堵和一般問題和我們所看到的一樣糟糕。因此，如果您查看我們在本季度指出的銷售成本率，我看不到任何改善，但仍然有所提高。不過，我會說，那缺席 - 我們仍然看到一些關於空白航行的問題。總的來說，我對我們今年的出貨量充滿信心。就確認的收入而言，將通過損益表計算出多少差額。

So if you look at Q3, we managed to hit our expected shipment numbers but we were low to the tune of somewhere around 300 to 400 megawatts in terms of the expected volume of revenue recognized, and that's a function of transit times. So if you go back to pre-pandemic times, we would normally see from factory gate to revenue recognition about 2 months from product leaving our Asia factories. That's increased by about 50%. So we're seeing closer to 90 days now for product coming from Asia into the U.S.

因此，如果您查看第三季度，我們設法達到了預期的出貨量，但就預期確認的收入而言，我們的出貨量低到大約 300 到 400 兆瓦，這是運輸時間的函數。因此，如果您回到大流行前的時期，我們通常會看到從產品出廠到產品離開我們亞洲工廠的大約 2 個月的收入確認。這增加了大約 50%。因此，我們現在看到產品從亞洲進入美國的時間接近 90 天。

So I think from a volume shifts, I've got a lot of confidence. And if you think about where we are today, effectively, for product coming from Asia, if it hasn't left the factory already, it's not going to get to destination if it's the U.S. by the end of the year. So we have reasonable clarity there. But again, the timing of the rev rec is a little bit different.

所以我認為從數量的變化來看，我有很大的信心。如果你想想我們今天在哪裡，有效地，對於來自亞洲的產品，如果它還沒有離開工廠，那麼到今年年底它就不會到達目的地。所以我們有合理的清晰度。但同樣，rev rec 的時間有點不同。

Now we do expect to catch up a little bit on the rev rec side in the fourth quarter, partly of the mix shift. So we see a little more expected volumes to be revenue recognized coming from either Perrysburg or our U.S. distribution center. There's also a slight mix shift in terms of income terms in there as well. So good confidence on shipments, still a bit of uncertainty on revenue recognition.

現在，我們確實希望在第四季度的轉速記錄方面有所趕上，部分原因是混合轉變。因此，我們看到來自 Perrysburg 或我們的美國配送中心的收入預計會增加一些。那裡的收入條件也有輕微的混合變化。對出貨的信心如此之好，收入確認仍有一些不確定性。

Yes. And I guess on the PLI, Julien, first off, I'd just like to reference again, as I said in my prepared remarks, it was a pleasure to get a chance to spend some time with Prime Minister Modi in D.C. And we talked through this a little bit, and he's very encouraged that First Solar is making a commitment to India and creates basically a footprint of diversification that they're looking for, right? So we are completely decoupled from a Chinese supply chain. And we're a vertically integrated factory within the 4 walls.

是的。我想關於 PLI，Julien，首先，我想再次提及，正如我在準備好的發言中所說，很高興有機會在華盛頓與莫迪總理共度時光。我們談了通過這一點，他非常鼓舞 First Solar 正在對印度做出承諾，並基本上創造了他們正在尋找的多元化足跡，對嗎？因此，我們與中國供應鏈完全脫鉤。我們是四面牆內的垂直整合工廠。

And so to truly enable kind of their focus on concern around overreliance, concern about energy independence and security, we're really a strategic enabler of that -- accomplishing that. His commitment to me was during their conversation was that he would ensure we would get our fair share of the PLI. So I feel encouraged by that statement and that commitment.

因此，為了真正讓他們關注過度依賴、能源獨立和安全問題，我們確實是實現這一目標的戰略推動者。在他們的談話中，他對我的承諾是，他將確保我們將獲得公平的 PLI 份額。因此，我對這一聲明和承諾感到鼓舞。

The PLI is still being worked through. There is some -- the first request for the PLI have been made. If you look at the scoring -- our current scoring would not necessarily indicate we would receive an allocation of PLI, but we are working through that. The -- his administration is also looking to expand beyond what was originally allocated to -- because there was such an overwhelming request to expand the funding requirements for PLI.

PLI 仍在進行中。有一些——已經提出了對 PLI 的第一個請求。如果你看一下評分——我們目前的評分不一定表明我們會收到 PLI 的分配，但我們正在努力解決這個問題。 - 他的政府也在尋求擴大超出最初分配的範圍 - 因為有如此壓倒性的要求來擴大 PLI 的資金需求。

So -- and there's also potentially another path that we could pursue that would give an equivalent PLI benefit even though it wasn't directly funded through the PLI program. So we're working on different options. As I said before, our business case was not predicated on receiving the PLI. If we received it, it was a benefit and an upside. We have other incentives that are moving forward. We're receiving an incentive for our CapEx that we're spending on the factory, which is a 24% credits that we'll receive to offset the cost of that capital.

所以——我們還可以追求另一條潛在的途徑，即使它不是通過 PLI 計劃直接資助的，也會帶來同等的 PLI 利益。所以我們正在研究不同的選擇。正如我之前所說，我們的業務案例並非以收到 PLI 為前提。如果我們收到了它，那將是一個好處和好處。我們還有其他正在向前發展的激勵措施。我們正在為我們在工廠上花費的資本支出獲得激勵，這是我們將獲得的 24% 的信用額度，以抵消該資本的成本。

There's other incentives that we're receiving related to labor. There's a 10-year incentive for a 20% rebate against our cost of labor and there are some other incentives that we are pursuing and those are all trending green. So PLI right now is still being managed. I still believe we'll be able to find an outcome that will be a positive outcome for us. But even without it, we still are very confident with our business case in India and our relative competitiveness of our new product and our new factory in the India market.

我們收到的其他激勵措施與勞動力有關。有一個 10 年的激勵措施，即從我們的勞動力成本中獲得 20% 的回扣，還有一些我們正在追求的其他激勵措施，這些都是綠色趨勢。所以 PLI 現在仍在管理中。我仍然相信我們將能夠找到一個對我們來說是積極的結果。但即使沒有它，我們仍然對我們在印度的商業案例以及我們在印度市場的新產品和新工廠的相對競爭力充滿信心。

Pricing for '23, what I would say is that where we are marking it currently right now is encouraging. And especially with the value levers that I referenced as potential upside as well. We are encouraged by what we're seeing, and we feel very confident in our ability to see a very attractive pricing, not only '23, '24 and then potentially into '25 as we enter into some of these long-term agreements.

'23 的定價，我想說的是，我們目前正在標記它的地方是令人鼓舞的。尤其是我提到的價值槓桿也具有潛在的上行空間。我們對我們所看到的感到鼓舞，我們對我們看到非常有吸引力的定價的能力充滿信心，不僅是'23、'24，然後隨著我們簽訂其中一些長期協議，可能會進入'25。

Yes. The other thing I'd add just on that is its pricing and also risk terms. So there is a view of changing risk profile around sales rate, for instance, that we're looking at in 2023 relative to historical contracts. So may not necessarily influence the overall ASP, but does change the risk shift, especially in the market we're seeing sales rate being a higher cost today.

是的。我要補充的另一件事是它的定價和風險條款。因此，例如，我們正在研究 2023 年相對於歷史合同的銷售率風險狀況的變化。因此，可能不一定會影響整體 ASP，但確實會改變風險轉移，尤其是在我們今天看到銷售率更高成本的市場中。

You said you're getting a premium ASP for your risk or you're not recognizing a premium for your risk factors?

您說您的風險獲得了溢價 ASP，或者您沒有認識到風險因素的溢價？

We're looking -- we're changing the allocation of risk and contracts so that we have sharing or pass-through of certain costs to the customers given the uncertainty around shipment.

我們正在尋找——我們正在改變風險和合同的分配，以便鑑於運輸的不確定性，我們可以將某些成本分攤或轉嫁給客戶。

So if you think of it this way. I mean, look, freight cost right now is up 70%, 80%, 90%. And so we've kind of created a level of which we're willing to accept, but a high percentage of that will now be passed through directly to our customers versus us sharing or carrying that entire risk on our ledger.

所以如果你這樣想。我的意思是，看，現在的運費上漲了 70%、80%、90%。所以我們創造了一個我們願意接受的水平，但其中很大一部分現在將直接傳遞給我們的客戶，而不是我們在我們的分類賬上分擔或承擔全部風險。

Your next question comes from the line of J.B. Lowe with Citi.

您的下一個問題來自 J.B. Lowe 與 Citi 的對話。

My question was on given all the moving parts we have between what you have booked for '22, the ASPs that you have already locked in and kind of the moving pieces of costs that we have flowing through at this point, shipping and otherwise, how do you think gross margin per watt should trend in 2022 versus 2021?

我的問題是考慮到我們在您為 22 年預訂的內容、您已經鎖定的 ASP 以及我們此時流經的移動成本（運輸和其他方面）之間的所有移動部分，如何您認為 2022 年與 2021 年的每瓦毛利率應該趨於一致嗎？

So if you look through the various moving pieces across the year, so Mark in his prepared remarks mentioned that there'll be some impact from our timing around CuRe. There'll be some specific impact related to that timing. We also will see some impact from overall cost per watt. So the factory upgrades not only impact CuRe but impact overall cost per watt. Without them, we have less watts. Therefore, we have less amortization of fixed costs going across the capacity we have.

因此，如果您查看一年中的各種變動因素，那麼馬克在他準備好的講話中提到，我們圍繞 CuRe 的時間安排會產生一些影響。會有一些與該時間相關的特定影響。我們還將看到每瓦總成本的一些影響。因此，工廠升級不僅會影響 CuRe，還會影響每瓦的總成本。沒有它們，我們的功率就會減少。因此，我們擁有的固定成本攤銷較少。

We've seen commodity price pressures. So I think in the prepared remarks, we talked about our year-over-year cost watt produced being down about 5% versus our previous expectation of 9%. That's mostly bill of materials issues. On the long term, we believe that gets resolved, but we do see short-term pressure especially on the aluminum side.

我們已經看到商品價格壓力。因此，我認為在準備好的評論中，我們談到了我們生產的瓦特成本同比下降了約 5%，而我們之前的預期為 9%。這主要是材料清單問題。從長期來看，我們認為這會得到解決，但我們確實看到了短期壓力，尤其是在鋁方面。

From a sales rate perspective, I would say that you're going to see the run rate you're seeing in the second half of this year most likely carry forward into next year. So no sequential increase forecast today, but higher relative to pre-pandemic levels. If you look in '22 overall as well, it's going to be the first year we don't have the U.S. Systems business, although we will have some contribution from Japan on a company-wide gross margin level, you're going to see some impact of that.

從銷售率的角度來看，我會說你會看到今年下半年看到的運行率很可能會延續到明年。因此，今天沒有連續增長的預測，但相對於大流行前的水平更高。如果你也看一下 22 年的整體情況，這將是我們沒有美國系統業務的第一年，儘管我們將在公司範圍內的毛利率水平上從日本獲得一些貢獻，你會看到的一些影響。

And then I'd say the other piece you're going to see is the flip side of not having that U.S. Systems business, the strategic decision we made to exit was accompanied by a growth decision and you're going to see that come through later. But in 2022, we haven't yet got additional capacity in the U.S. or in India online, but you are going to see the costs associated with that in terms of startup and ramp costs coming through. We talked on the last call about that being somewhere in the range of $60 million to $70 million per factory combined start-up and ramp and you'd see, I think, a little bit more than half of that total coming through in 2022, with the remainder coming in 2023.

然後我會說你會看到的另一部分是沒有美國系統業務的另一面，我們做出退出的戰略決策伴隨著增長決策，你會看到它通過之後。但是到 2022 年，我們還沒有在美國或印度在線獲得額外的產能，但你會看到與啟動成本和坡道成本相關的成本。我們在最後一次電話會議上談到，每家工廠的啟動和產能加起來在 6000 萬美元到 7000 萬美元之間，你會看到，我認為，到 2022 年，總金額的一半多一點，其餘的將在 2023 年推出。

So you're going to see some pressure on -- across the board in 2022. What I would say is if you then look forward and take that through into '23, most of those short-term challenges don't tell the longer-term story. So the CuRe delay that we talked about, that impact will be felt from '22, not in '23. By '23, you'll have over half of the ramp and start-up for the India and the U.S. factory, which will have been spent sequentially year-on-year. Going '22 to '23, you're going to see a decrease in startup and ramp. As we talked about in the prepared remarks, ASPs right now, we're seeing '22 to '23 are essentially flat in the backlog.

因此，您將在 2022 年全面看到一些壓力。我想說的是，如果您展望未來並將其持續到 23 年，大多數短期挑戰並不能說明長期-學期故事。所以我們談到的治愈延遲，這種影響將從 22 年開始，而不是 23 年。到 23 年，印度和美國工廠將有超過一半的坡道和啟動，這將按年順序支出。從 22 年到 23 年，你會看到啟動和斜坡的減少。正如我們在準備好的評論中談到的那樣，現在的 ASP，我們看到 '22 到 '23 的積壓基本上持平。

And at the time when we have got pretty strong macro tailwinds right now on the bookings. We would expect sea cost per watt come down over the 2 years. From a volume produced and sold perspective, you're going to see volume come up as the factories come online in '23. You're also going to see Series 7 come through. Right now, we're not booking for that. As we mentioned on our last call, we expect to see about a $0.01 to $0.03 gross margin entitlement advantage associated with Series 7 relative to Series 6, and that's a benefit split across ASP cost per watt in sales rate.

在我們現在在預訂方面獲得相當強勁的宏觀順風的時候。我們預計每瓦的海運成本在 2 年內會下降。從生產和銷售量的角度來看，隨著工廠在 23 年上線，您將看到產量增加。您還將看到系列 7 的通過。現在，我們不為此預訂。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的那樣，我們預計與系列 6 相比，系列 7 的毛利率優勢約為 0.01 美元至 0.03 美元，這是銷售率中每瓦 ASP 成本的收益分配。

And then lastly, on the sales rate side, you're going to see a benefit, again, in '23 relative to '22. I just talked about the contractual shift that we're making, whereby we are capping effectively the amount of sales risk we take and the passing remainder through to customers. So you are going to see that by virtue of a lot of those things, an impact to gross margin in 2022, a lot of which will reverse out in '23, and we'll give you more clarity and visibility into that when we give guidance in February.

最後，在銷售率方面，您將再次看到 23 年相對於 22 年的收益。我剛剛談到了我們正在進行的合同轉變，即我們有效地限制了我們承擔的銷售風險以及將剩餘部分傳遞給客戶的數量。所以你會看到，由於很多這些事情，對 2022 年毛利率的影響，其中很多將在 23 年逆轉，當我們給出時，我們會給你更多的清晰度和可見性2 月的指導。

Awesome. My other question was just on -- given all the pricing headwinds you've seen or cost headwinds we've seen, is there any change to the outlook for CapEx required to build the new facilities or timing of such?

驚人的。我的另一個問題剛剛提出——考慮到您看到的所有定價逆風或我們看到的成本逆風，建造新設施所需的資本支出前景或此類設施的時間安排是否有任何變化？

Yes. So look, there's a lot of moving pieces in the CapEx right now for both of the factories and some positive and some challenging, right? And one of the unfortunate reality of sales rate or freight in general, I should say, carries itself all the way through our tool set and delivering of those tool sets to our factories, right? So we are seeing some higher costs there. We've seen some other benefits relative to our original assumptions around the equipment cost that are more favorable.

是的。所以看，現在兩家工廠的資本支出都有很多變化，有些是積極的，有些是具有挑戰性的，對吧？我應該說，一般而言，銷售率或運費的不幸現實之一是貫穿我們的工具集並將這些工具集交付給我們的工廠，對嗎？因此，我們在那裡看到了一些更高的成本。相對於我們對設備成本的原始假設，我們已經看到了一些其他更有利的好處。

So as we review, which we do every month, the status of those 2 expansions and then the relative CapEx relative to the goals and also what we committed externally. The numbers are still lining up. The thing that could impact schedule per se would be long delayed in transit delivery schedule of the equipment set. And so we are trying to get ahead of that, and we're trying to move that forward. And we've accommodated for some longer in-transit delivery times.

因此，當我們每個月都會審查這兩個擴展的狀態，然後是相對於目標的相對資本支出以及我們在外部承諾的內容時。數字還在排隊。本身可能影響進度的事情，在成套設備的中轉交付進度中，會出現較長時間的延遲。因此，我們正在努力超越這一點，並且我們正在努力推動這一點。我們已經適應了一些更長的在途交貨時間。

But everything we see as of right now, we're still on target, basically within the budget, which we've communicated externally as well as the schedule when those factories will be up and operational.

但是我們現在看到的一切，我們仍然在目標上，基本上在預算之內，我們已經與外部進行了溝通，以及這些工廠啟動和運營的時間表。

Your next question comes from the line of Ben Kallo with Baird.

您的下一個問題來自 Ben Kallo 和 Baird 的台詞。

So if we did have the -- I don't know if we call it an as of manufacturing credit, but if we had that, how do you guys monetize that, is my first question. Can you use that yourself? Or do you get a tax equity partner or how does that work? And then how big do we think that is?

因此，如果我們確實有 - 我不知道我們是否稱其為製造信貸，但如果我們有，你們如何將其貨幣化，這是我的第一個問題。你自己可以用嗎？或者您是否有稅務股權合夥人，或者它是如何運作的？然後我們認為那有多大？

So first off, the way it's been structured right now, Ben, it's a refundable tax credit. So we don't have to have sufficient tax capacity to monetize it. To the extent we do have a tax liability, then the credit would have offset that portion. And to the extent the credit was in excess of our tax liability, then it would be a refundable credit that would be paid back to us by the U.S. government.

首先，Ben，它現在的結構方式是可退還的稅收抵免。所以我們不必有足夠的稅收能力來將其貨幣化。如果我們確實有納稅義務，那麼抵免額將抵消那部分。如果抵免額超過我們的納稅義務，那麼它將是可退還的抵免額，將由美國政府退還給我們。

The -- Ben, it's -- you can do the math, right? And the numbers can be pretty significant at $0.11 a watt. I mean you take $0.11 a watt across our U.S. capacity, call it, 3 gigawatts for the U.S. without the expansion. And then with the expansion, you had another 3.3 gigawatts. So we're a little bit north of 6 gigawatts in the way that it would work right now, again, with the module and the cell being additive, then you would be entitled to $0.11 for every watt of which we ship to -- produce and ship after beginning, let's say it this way, beginning January 1, 2022.

- Ben，它是 - 你可以做數學，對吧？這些數字可能相當可觀，為每瓦 0.11 美元。我的意思是，在我們的美國產能中，您需要每瓦 0.11 美元，稱其為 3 吉瓦，美國沒有擴張。然後隨著擴展，您還有 3.3 吉瓦。因此，我們現在的工作方式略低於 6 吉瓦，再次，由於模塊和電池是添加劑，那麼您將有權為我們運送到的每瓦特獲得 0.11 美元——生產並在開始後發貨，讓我們這樣說，從 2022 年 1 月 1 日開始。

So anything that we're producing right now would not be eligible for that, even though it would potentially ship next year. But anything that we produce next year and ship, then we would be entitled to a credit that as it currently is positioned would be a minimum of $0.11 a watt.

所以我們現在生產的任何東西都不符合條件，即使它可能會在明年發貨。但是，我們明年生產並發貨的任何產品，我們都將有權獲得目前定位的最低每瓦 0.11 美元的信用額度。

Got it. And then just with the uncertainty with this not shipping costs and financing costs and everything else. But how are customers -- I get this question a lot, like how much stuff gets pushed out to next year to wait and see or what have you?

知道了。然後只是不確定性，這不是運輸成本和融資成本以及其他一切。但是客戶怎麼樣 - 我經常收到這個問題，比如有多少東西被推到明年等待觀望，或者你有什麼？

So the one issue with us is that we're not seeing a lot of stuff moving. And the -- what's happening right now is unfortunately -- obviously, not all of our customers are 100%. There are a couple, which I do thank them very much. So the fact they're 100% committed to First Solar's technology, but not all of them are. And they're getting reneged on or pushed out by our competitors. And so in some cases, if they have a commitment with us on the books and the project discretely which that was associated with may be moving, they're looking to take that volume and allocate it to another project that they're unable to get module supply for.

所以我們面臨的一個問題是我們沒有看到很多東西在移動。而且 - 不幸的是，現在發生的事情 - 顯然，並非我們所有的客戶都是 100%。有一對，我非常感謝他們。因此，他們 100% 致力於 First Solar 的技術，但並非所有人都如此。他們被我們的競爭對手背棄或排擠。因此，在某些情況下，如果他們在賬面上與我們有承諾，並且與之相關的項目可能正在發生變化，他們希望獲得該數量並將其分配給他們無法獲得的另一個項目模塊供應。

So for us, it's not much of an impact because nobody wants to give up the opportunity that they've got secured right now with us. And so what they're doing is taking delivery of modules and then using them in other projects. So I know others are seeing that impact. I know projects truly are slipping or getting pushed out. We're just not seeing much of that impact yet.

所以對我們來說，影響不大，因為沒有人願意放棄他們現在與我們一起獲得的機會。所以他們正在做的是接收模塊，然後在其他項目中使用它們。所以我知道其他人正在看到這種影響。我知道項目確實在滑倒或被推出。我們只是還沒有看到太大的影響。

Your next question comes from the line of Maheep Mandloi with Credit Suisse.

您的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Maheep Mandloi。

Just on the Japan project, could you just talk about how much of EPS sensitivity do you expect from that? And just in terms of certainty, what are you thinking about it? And could you just also talk more about the CuRe delay and improvements and how much the impact there is? I think you spoke about $100 million previously. Just wanted to clarify that for 2022.

就日本項目而言，您能否談談您期望從中獲得多少 EPS 敏感性？就確定性而言，你在想什麼？您能否進一步談談治療延遲和改進以及影響有多大？我想你之前談到了 1 億美元。只是想在 2022 年澄清這一點。

Yes, this is Alex. I'll take quickly the -- we've guided to about $55 million to $70 million of gross margin assumption for Q4 associated with Japan assets.

是的，這是亞歷克斯。我會迅速採取 - 我們已經指導了與日本資產相關的第四季度毛利率約為 5500 萬至 7000 萬美元的假設。

Yes. As it relates to CuRe. So where we are with CuRe right now, again, there's 2 challenges, right? And one is our ability and the timing to replicate. We were in the process of upgrading our factories, Malaysia, Vietnam, to enable the CuRe production process, which there are certain tools, the oven in particular, that has to be upgraded. And we have not been able to do that with the restrictions that have been placed on us because of the COVID pandemic and the Delta variant spread in the way that it has over the last several months, things are getting better. So that's obviously all positive.

是的。因為它與CuRe有關。那麼我們現在與 CuRe 的關係如何，再次面臨兩個挑戰，對吧？一是我們的複制能力和時機。我們正在升級我們在馬來西亞、越南的工廠，以啟用 CuRe 生產過程，其中有一些工具，特別是烤箱，必須升級。由於 COVID 大流行和 Delta 變種在過去幾個月中的傳播方式對我們施加的限制，我們無法做到這一點，情況正在好轉。所以這顯然都是積極的。

But that's been a huge constraint and that delays our ability to roll out. Now before that, even as we sit with where the solution development phase is right now, we are behind where we want to be as it relates to -- if you think about the attributes of CuRe, what's the value of CuRe? Well, first and foremost is the improved long-term degradation rate. The other is higher efficiency. And then finally, it's the better temperature coefficient. So we've actually closed the gap between our existing product and the CuRe degradation rate, which we highlighted on the call that now we're at a 0.3 annual degradation rate based off of the studies that we've done and further validation with third-party methodologies, that we're at 0.3 and we'll go forward with 0.3 right now, but that's still higher than our 0.2. It's best-in-class industry, but not to the level that CuRe was going to take us to.

但這是一個巨大的限制，延遲了我們推出的能力。在此之前，即使我們現在處於解決方案開發階段，但我們仍然落後於我們想要達到的目標——如果你考慮一下 CuRe 的屬性，CuRe 的價值是什麼？嗯，首先是改善的長期降解率。另一個是更高的效率。最後，它是更好的溫度係數。因此，我們實際上已經縮小了現有產品與 CuRe 降解率之間的差距，我們在電話會議上強調說，根據我們已經完成的研究和第三次進一步驗證，現在我們的年降解率是 0.3 - 派對方法，我們現在是 0.3，我們現在將繼續使用 0.3，但這仍然高於我們的 0.2。這是一流的行業，但沒有達到 CuRe 將帶我們達到的水平。

The efficiency, at least as we exit this year, we're recovered about 2 bins on efficiency with our existing products. So we've closed a little bit of that gap, but we're slightly off on efficiency from where we want to be. And then on the temperature coefficient. So we are -- the temperature coefficient is not as favorable with our existing product is where we want to be with CuRe.

效率，至少在我們今年退出時，我們現有產品的效率提高了大約 2 箱。所以我們已經縮小了一點差距，但我們在效率上與我們想要的地方略有差距。然後是溫度係數。所以我們 - 我們現有產品的溫度係數不如我們希望使用 CuRe 的地方。

Now we've been able to validate through our laboratory work as well as individually each one of those attributes through our pilot line. But when we take it into high-volume manufacturing, there are certain attributes that are becoming more challenging as we try to take it into high-volume manufacturing. One is the handling of the product. So the -- I would say the film is not as resilient yet as our current device is, and therefore, handling becomes much more of a concern.

現在，我們已經能夠通過我們的實驗室工作以及通過我們的試驗線單獨驗證這些屬性中的每一個。但是，當我們將其用於大批量製造時，當我們嘗試將其用於大批量製造時，某些屬性變得越來越具有挑戰性。一是產品的處理。所以——我想說這部電影還沒有我們目前的設備那麼有彈性，因此，處理變得更加令人擔憂。

So we've got to work through that 2 ways. One is to improve potentially how we handle the product in the production process, the other is to make the film a little bit more resilient to enable that to happen. The other is it is currently, the atmosphere and the effects of humidity in particular, is a little bit more challenging than what we have with our existing products. So we've got to work through that.

所以我們必須通過這兩種方式來工作。一個是潛在地改進我們在生產過程中處理產品的方式，另一個是讓電影更有彈性以實現這一點。另一個是目前，特別是大氣和濕度的影響，比我們現有的產品更具挑戰性。所以我們必須解決這個問題。

So we know we can solve each one of those. It's just a matter of time and to do it in high-volume manufacturing. And that means we're going to have to run. And so that's part of it. We've been doing runs, and we've been doing designs of experiments to validate and learn and evolve. So it's a matter of finalizing that effort. It's not an issue with the viability of the technology, as we've seen demonstrated either through the laboratory work or even the pilot line or we call it a quip line validation of those discrete attributes that we need in order to get to the program objectives for CuRe.

所以我們知道我們可以解決每一個問題。在大批量製造中實現它只是時間問題。這意味著我們將不得不運行。這就是其中的一部分。我們一直在進行跑步，我們一直在進行實驗設計以驗證、學習和發展。所以這是一個完成這項工作的問題。這不是技術可行性的問題，正如我們已經通過實驗室工作甚至試點線所證明的那樣，或者我們稱之為對我們實現計劃目標所需的那些離散屬性的俏皮話驗證用於硫化。

And so we're working through each and every one of those. And our current view is right now, we'll have our lead line up and running by the end of Q1 of '22. And then from there, once we have that validated, then we'll make a decision on the replication throughout the balance of the fleet, as well as the -- hopefully, we're seeing some positive signs of ability to travel and to get in country into Vietnam and Malaysia to start the upgrade process. So once we have that validation through our lead line, we can start the replication process, but that is still a constraint.

所以我們正在處理每一個問題。我們目前的觀點是，我們將在 22 年第一季度末建立並運行我們的領先陣容。然後從那裡開始，一旦我們得到驗證，然後我們將決定在整個機隊的平衡中進行複制，以及 - 希望我們看到一些積極的跡象表明能夠旅行和獲得在國家進入越南和馬來西亞開始升級過程。因此，一旦我們通過引導線進行了驗證，我們就可以開始復製過程，但這仍然是一個限制。

We need to be able to get in country to upgrade the tool sets. And if, unfortunately, over the winter months, we see a new variant or something else that comes through and we're unable to travel in country then that's going to create further delays that we'll have to manage. What we have right now is the range that we've given to, these are all going to be subject to negotiations with customers that we're going to have to work through.

我們需要能夠進入國家升級工具集。不幸的是，如果在冬季的幾個月裡，我們看到一個新的變種或其他東西出現，而我們無法在國內旅行，那麼這將造成進一步的延誤，我們將不得不進行管理。我們現在擁有的是我們提供的範圍，這些都將取決於我們必須與客戶進行的談判。

And we started them. Some of them have been pretty positive. Some of them have not been as positive. And so we felt it was prudent to provide some potential impact to the extent that we are delayed in the rollout that we could see some adverse impact to our revenue next year. Which if you look at the volume, which we're going to ship next year, we're talking somewhere around $0.01. But when you take a $0.01 across 8 to 9 gigawatts of shipments, it becomes a pretty material impact pretty quickly. So we just wanted to make sure that it was transparent.

我們開始了它們。他們中的一些人非常積極。其中一些並沒有那麼積極。因此，我們認為在我們推遲推出的情況下提供一些潛在影響是謹慎的，因為我們可能會看到明年對我們的收入產生一些不利影響。如果你看一下我們將在明年發貨的數量，我們談論的是大約 0.01 美元。但是，當您在 8 到 9 吉瓦的出貨量中收取 0.01 美元時，它很快就會產生相當大的實質性影響。所以我們只是想確保它是透明的。

And this does conclude our allotted time for questions and answers. And this does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

這確實結束了我們分配的問答時間。這確實結束了今天的電話會議。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。