First Solar Contracts with PG&E for 300-MW PV Project

First Solar Inc. has signed a power purchase agreement to supply Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) with renewable electricity from a 300-MW photovoltaic (PV) solar power facility that First Solar is developing in Southern California.

The contract, announced on Tuesday, is for the Desert Sunlight project, to be located near Desert Center in eastern Riverside County, Calif. Total capacity of the plant will be 550 MW. The other 250 MW are already under contract to Southern California Edison. First Solar’s power purchase agreements with PG&E and SCE are subject to the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission.

First Solar will build the Desert Sunlight project using its thin-film PV modules and will provide its project development, engineering, procurement and construction capabilities. Construction is expected to start by the end of 2010 and to be completed as early as 2013. The project’s permit application has been fast-tracked by the Bureau of Land Management.

First Solar has 1,700 MW of utility-scale power projects with power purchase agreements in North America.

Source: First Solar