First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, which manufactures thin-film photovoltaic modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe), has entered into an agreement to construct a 250MWAC solar power plant in Riverside County, CA, for a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC.
The McCoy Solar Energy Project will be located on about 2300 acres of mostly public land provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) about 13 miles northwest of Blythe, California. First Solar will provide engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) services, using its CdTe thin-film PV modules.
The project is located near the 550MWAC Desert Sunlight Solar Farm (which is jointly owned by a subsidiary of NextEra, GE Energy Financial Services, and Sumitomo Corporation of America) currently under construction by First Solar. An affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources also previously purchased two projects built by First Solar in Canada.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2014, with completion in late 2016. The project will provide up to 400 construction jobs at peak operation.
