It’s a big day for First Solar (FSLR).  This morning the company announced a 5 year supply deal with Solar City Corp, which calls for FSLR to supply 100MW of its advanced thin film solar modules beginning in early 2009.  The deal also includes $25 million in financing to Solar City and marks First Solar’s entrance into the US market.

Solar City is one of the nation’s leading solar installers with operations in California, Arizona and Oregon and its financing option allows homeowners to switch to solar power for less money than they currently pay for traditional power without the need for a large up front cost.

“Our relationship with First Solar will enable us to deliver affordable solar power to a wider market of residential and small commercial customers,” said Lyndon Rive, chief executive officer of SolarCity. “We believe that together, SolarCity and First Solar are uniquely capable of making solar power competitive with the cost of electricity generated from fossil fuels across the U.S.,–making solar a mainstream source of electricity in the next several years.”

In other news, the company just reported strong results after the bell today, beating EPS estimates by .19/share, reporting 1.20 (a 145% increase from the year ago quarter).   Revenue for the quarter came in at 348.7 million (119% increase over year ago), beating expectations by nearly 10 million.

The company is holding a conference call as I write this and as always, guidance will be what’s most important.  I’ll have an update later.  Shares down 2% after hours.

UPDATE:::::

The company is raising 08 guidance but lowering 09 guidance.  The company now expects 2008 revenue of 1.22 – 1.24 billion which is a bit higher than the previous expected range of 1.175 to 1.225.  For 2009 the company is guiding just a bit lower with expected revenue of 2 – 2.10 billion (down from previous estimates of 2.13 billion)

Shares are surging after hours most likely due to the big supply deals they just announced.