First Solar

Transactions (July 2014)

First Solar sold the 50-MW Macho Springs Solar Power Plant to a Southern Company subsidiary. DTE Energy purchased one of the Pheasant Run wind parks. Dominion acquired two stand-alone solar energy developments in southwest Tennessee. With asset sales by Suzlon Group, NextEra Energy Resources, and Strata Solar, and debt offerings by ITC Holdings and SunEdison.

Dominion Acquires CID Solar Project from EDF Renewable Energy

Dominion acquired the CID Solar Project from EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE). The asset sale agreement will close upon completion of installation, after which EDF RE will manage the commissioning and place the project in service. CID Solar Project, located on 200 acres of private land in eastern Kings County, California, was developed by EDF RE and is designed as a 27 MWp / 20 MWac ground-mount facility comprised of First Solar Series 3 solar photovoltaic modules with horizontal single-axis trackers.

First Solar Completes Sale of 250MW Silver State South to NextEra Energy Resources

First Solar completed the sale of the 250-MW Silver State South Solar Project to a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The project is adjacent to the 50MWAC Silver State North Project, which was developed and built by First Solar and commissioned in 2012. First Solar developed and designed the Silver State South project, and will provide EPC services to NextEra. All the power from Silver State South will be sold to Southern California Edison under a long-term PPA.

First Solar Sells Macho Springs Solar Project to Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy

First Solar sold the 50-MW Macho Springs Solar Power Plant to Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. El Paso Electric has a 20-year PPA for all energy generated by the power plant. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The power plant, located on approximately 600 acres of State Trust land near Deming, New Mexico, is the state's largest solar power plant.

Digest (May 2014)

GE Energy Consulting and the New York Power Authority agree to a license arrangement allowing NYPA to use GE’s MAPS software to perform high-fidelity nodal analysis; NRG acquires Roof Diagnostics Solar, a residential solar company; GE unveils 2.75-120 wind turbine; AEP awards Babcock & Wilcox a contract to provide steam generator services.

Digest

ISO New England approves Northern Pass transmission project; Southern California Edison selects Quanta PAR to build Tehachapi transmission line segments; Pennsylvania PUC approves PPL $335 million grid project; Southern Company completes smart grid investments; U.S. Army Reserve contracts ConEdison Solutions for efficiency and maintenance support services; plus announcements and contracts involving Honeywell, Stor Generation, Salt River Project, Landis+Gyr, Abengoa, Constellation, and others.

First Solar Begins Construction on Barilla Solar Project

First Solar began construction on Phase I of the Barilla Solar Project in Pecos County, Texas. The 22 MW is expected to begin commercial operation in mid-2014. First Solar will build, commission and operate the power plant, and offer the output to customers, including municipal utilities, electric cooperatives, and larger commercial and industrial users.

Transactions (January 2014)

Calpine acquires 1,050-MW combined-cycle plant in Texas; Allete buys AES wind farms; NextEra acquires Silver State solar project from First Solar; plus equity and debt deals involving EdF, Emera, First Wind, SunEdison, AEP, NV Energy and others, totaling $2.7 billion.

Digest

Siemens and Accenture joint venture on smart grid management systems; CenterPoint picks Itron for RF meter rollout; Memphis picks Elster electric, gas, and water AMI system; TransAlta acquires Wyoming wind farm from NextEra; NRG acquires Edison Mission Energy assets; Google to invest in Imperial Valley solar project; Sempra acquires Nebraska wind project; plus contracts and announcements from Babcock & Wilcox, Echelon, PJM, California ISO, and others.

Digest

Duke Energy Renewables begins construction on 5-MW solar project in North Carolina; Duke and Integrys partner with Canadian Solar and Community Energy Solar on 3-MW PV project; First Wind contracts for 333 MW in Massachusetts; EDF Renewable Energy buys into 20-MW anaerobic digester plant; AEP to retire Tanners Creek 4 coal plant; Opelika Power Services selects Tantalus for fiber-based triple-play system; ABB wins substation contract in Brazil and commissions offshore wind transmission link in Europe; Arista Power to develop microgrid system for U.S. Army facility; plus announcements and contracts from Standard Solar, ComEd, British Gas, Tenaska, and others.