A portion of utility-scale solar projects in Edison Mission Group's (EMG) solar project development pipeline have been acquired by First Solar. The company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar modules and provider for utility systems. The projects acquired by First Solar are located in the Southwest and California.
Lisa Bodensteiner, First Solar vice president of business development for North America, said that the acquisition of solar project development pipeline from EMG stretches First Solar’s leadership in the utility market in the United States. Bodensteiner commented that the acquisition also helps to predict the demand for solar modules for utility scale applications.
By acquiring EMG’s solar projects, First Solar will be diversifying its existing utility-scale thin film photovoltaic projects portfolio. The company’s existing solar projects range up to 500 MW in size and are under contract with utilities. The projects are mostly located in public lands. The projects from EMG acquired by First Solar are mostly sited on private lands and have capacities from 20 MW to 150 MW. These projects are yet to sign contracts with utilities.
First Solar and EMG have collaborated together since the year 2008 for EMG projects. Land acquisition and permitting was taken care by EMG and Fist Solar provided various services for the projects including procurement, engineering and construction. For the acquired projects, First Solar will in charge for all the development including permitting.