FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Garabedian Raffi   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol FIRST SOLAR, INC. [FSLR] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Chief Technology Officer (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O FIRST SOLAR, INC., 350 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 600 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 07/21/2016 (Street) TEMPE, AZ 85281-1244 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common Stock 07/21/2016   M   90,000 (1) A $ 0 92,007 D

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Performance Units

(2)

07/21/2016

M

90,000

(3)

(3)

Common Stock

90,000

$ 0

0

D

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Garabedian Raffi C/O FIRST SOLAR, INC. 350 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 600 TEMPE, AZ 85281-1244			Chief Technology Officer

Signatures

/s/ Peter C. Bartolino, Attorney-in-fact		07/25/2016
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Represents shares of common stock issuable upon vesting of the second and final tranche of the Key Senior Talent Equity Performance Program ("KSTEPP") performance units granted to the reporting person on May 7, 2012. On July 21, 2016, the Compensation Committee of the Issuer's Board of Directors (the "Compensation Committee") certified the Issuer's achievement of the vesting condition for the second tranche of the KSTEPP performance units.
(2)	Each performance unit represents the right to receive, upon vesting, one share of the Issuer's common stock.
(3)	The performance units were granted on May 7, 2012 in accordance with the Issuer's 2010 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan and were to vest in two separate tranches, each contingent upon the achievement of a threshold performance goal and pre-established performance criteria within a defined performance period. Performance Units could not vest unless the participant remained continuously employed by the Issuer through the applicable vesting date, unless the participant was eligible, in certain pre-established circumstances, for a pro-rata settlement. In the event of a change of control of the Issuer during the performance period, regardless of whether the threshold performance goal had been achieved, 25% of the then unvested portion of the performance unit would vest or a different amount as determined by the Compensation Committee. On November 9, 2015, the Compensation Committee had certified the Issuer's achievement of the partial vesting condition for the rolling annual period ended September 30, 2015 (tranche 1), and on July 21, 2016, the Compensation Committee certified the Issuer's achievement of the full vesting condition for the rolling annual period ended June 30, 2016 (tranche 2).

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