First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, which manufactures thin-film photovoltaic modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), has sold the 139MWAC Campo Verde Solar Project to Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. First Solar will complete project construction (which began in December) and will operate and maintain the power plant for 10 years. Commercial operation is expected this fall.
The Campo Verde project is located on a 1443-acre site near El Centro in Imperial County, CA and is expected to generate enough electricity to power nearly 48,000 homes, displacing 80,000 metric tons of CO2 per year (equivalent to taking 15,000 cars off the road). San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) will purchase the project’s output under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
According to an independent study conducted for Imperial County, the Campo Verde Solar Facility will have an economic impact to the Imperial County area totaling about $239m over the next 30 years. It is expected to contribute $17.5m in local tax revenue and employ an average of 250 workers during construction.
The Campo Verde project integrates First Solar’s solar modules with its power plant controls and grid-integration technology. “By leading the project from development through engineering, construction and operations, we are able to offer the highest performance and greatest reliability,” reckons James F. Cook, First Solar’s director of project development.
Campo Verde is the second project that First Solar has designed and constructed for Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. In 2010, it sold the 30MWAC Cimarron I Solar Project, adjacent to Ted Turner's Vermejo Park Ranch in northern New Mexico, to the partnership.
“First Solar was the developer of our partnership's first venture — the Cimarron Solar Facility in New Mexico — and we’re pleased to expand our joint efforts through our largest solar acquisition to date,” says Southern Power’s president & CEO Oscar Harper.
First Solar does not expect to recognize revenue prior to commercial operation of the plant.
