In under a decade, First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has produced more than 4 gigawatts of thin-film photovoltaics. That’s enough solar power to power about 2 million homes. It’s the first thin-film photovoltaic company to reach such a milestone. And it’s not slowing down. By the end of 2012, the company will produce nearly 3 gigawatts—annually.

The company began producing its thin-film photovoltaics commercially in 2002. By 2005 it was producing 25 megawatts a year. Since then it’s ramped up annual production capacity with significant leaps and bounds. By 2010 it produced 1.5 gigawatts of modules. and by the end of 2011, it projects that its annual production capacity will be at 2.3 gigawatts.

For comparison, another leading U.S. photovoltaic company, SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA & SPWRB), is also upping production capacity. The company, which produces some of the most efficient commercially available photovoltaics in the world, plans to triple its annual capacity by 2013 to nearly 2 gigawatts. Last year it produced 580 megawatts of solar. Unlike First Solar, SunPower uses crystalline silicon in its modules.

Even now the company is working on building new plants in Malaysia, Vietnam and the U.S. It also recently started producing modules at its second facility in Frankfurt, Germany, a month ahead of schedule.

“The progress on the plant simply went faster than even we expected,” said spokesperson Alan Bernheimer.

By the third-quarter of 2011, the German facility, it’s second in Frankfurt, should be at full capacity. When full production at the second facility is reached in the third quarter of 2011, together they will produce 500 megawatts annually. That’s small potatoes compared to its production plant in Malaysia, which is now churning out 1.5 gigawatts of solar annually.

First Solar also is pushing into new markets. It’s been primarily concerned with large-scale solar, installations over 30 kilowatts in size. But the European market has been trending toward smaller installations, so First Solar made its modules available for installations between 10 kilowatts and 30 kilowatts.

“This was just announced a few weeks ago,” Berheimer said. It’s too soon to say how successful the company’s move into that market has been, he said.

Image courtesy of First Solar.