First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA has been selected by independent energy company Tenaska Solar Ventures (an affiliate of electric generation firm Tenaska of Omaha, NE, USA) to design and build the 150MWAC Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West project near El Centro, CA.
As well as employing its cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic modules and single-axis tilt technology, First Solar will provide full engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) on the plant. The project sits on about 1100 acres of previously disturbed land in Imperial County. Tenaska Imperial West is the second solar project in Southern California's Imperial Valley developed, owned and managed by Tenaska. Last November, First Solar completed construction on the 130MWAC Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center South power plant for the firm.
"We are pleased to continue our relationship with Tenaska," says Roger Bredder, First Solar's managing director for US Business Development. "This project will provide up to 800 jobs in the Imperial Valley at construction peak, and make a significant economic contribution to the local community."
Bredder said that the highly qualified local workforce that built Tenaska Imperial South over the past two years will provide a strong pool of experienced workers familiar with First Solar's technology and construction methods.
First Solar has already started engineering and expects to begin construction later in 2014, with full commercial operation anticipated in 2016. San Diego Gas & Electric Company holds a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for all electricity generated by Tenaska Imperial West.
