First Solar has completed the sale of the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, which is the largest project in the world based on photovoltaic solar power with a capacity of 550 Megawatt (AC). The company sold the project to NextEra Energy Resources, which is a subsidiary of GE Financial Services and NextEra Energy.
Workers install First Solar panels in Blythe, Calif. Credit: Business Wire
Of the total power generated from the project 250 Megawatts will be sold to Southern California Edison and 300 Megawatts will be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The project is situated in the Chuckwalla valley with an area of around 3,800 acres and an additional infrastructure area of 200 acres. The company will provide advanced thin-film PV modules for the project, part of which will be supplied from its $300 million factory, which is being constructed in Arizona. This facility will have an employee strength of 600 staff that will provide support services to the Desert Sunlight project as well as other PV projects in the US. The first phase of the construction has already begun and full scale commercial operations are likely to occur by the beginning of 2015.
The project is funded by a consortium led by Goldman Sachs Lending Partners and Citigroup and includes commercial banks and private institutional investors. Of the total loan amount, the Department of Energy is providing a guarantee for $1.46 billion. The project, which will operate for a minimum of 25 years is expected to provide power to 160,000 homes in California and generate economic benefits of up to $336 million in the area of the project. It will also generate sales and property tax revenues of $27 million and will help California in generating 33% of its power from renewable energy by 2020.