"Solar pricing has fallen so dramatically so fast, many people do not understand" how the industry has been affected, Hughes said. Still, he insisted that First Solar could stake out a value proposition, as analysts question whether the industry can survive without government subsidies and creative accounting. "I understand the skepticism, and we take it as a challenge that we have to execute and prove to investors that we're going to deliver what we've indicated," Hughes said. First Solar's stock has bucked the trend of a sector beset by falling share prices—its shares are up more than 68 percent this year and trading just shy of a 52-week high. Most publicly traded solar companies are China-based panel manufacturers suffering in sympathy with Suntech Power, which recently filed for bankruptcy.