First Solar Inc. FSLR and Southern California Edison (“SCE”), a subsidiary of Edison International EIX, signed Power Purchase Agreements (“PPAs”) for the sale of electricity generated by four solar projects located in California, Nevada and Arizona, with a total capacity of 500 megawatts (“MW”).
The four projects, which are being developed by First Solar, are expected to start operations by the end of 2019.
Located in Rosamond, CA, the 150-MW North Rosamond Solar Project is expected to occupy roughly 1,175 acres of private land, and produce around 488,000 megawatt-hour (“MWh”) of electricity per year.
The 100-MW Willow Springs Solar Project is located near the North Rosamond Project and will occupy roughly 1,450 acres of private land. It will generate around 330,000 MWh of electricity per year.
The Sunshine Valley Solar Project will be located in Amargosa, NV, less than four miles from the California border, on a privately owned land. This 100-MW plant will produce approximately 302,000 MWh of electricity per year.
The 150-MW Sun Streams Solar Project will be located on roughly 1,500 acres of land in Tonopah, AZ. It will generate approximately 464,000 MWh of electricity per year.
With this agreement, SCE will become the largest single energy buyer in the world with 2.2 gigawatts (“GW”) of solar capacity under contract from First Solar projects. SCE had signed the first PPA with First Solar in 2009 for the 21-MW Blythe Solar Project. The utility also has a long-term agreement for 250 MW capacity of the 550-MW Desert Sunlight Solar Project in Desert Center, CA, which started operating in 2014. SCE also has other contracts for projects currently in construction, including the Desert Stateline project, CA; and the Silver State South project, NV.
Headquartered in Tempe, AZ, First Solar designs, manufactures and sells solar electric power modules using a proprietary thin-film semiconductor technology. It sells its products to project developers, system integrators and renewable energy project operators primarily in Europe and Germany in particular. First Solar also engages in designing and deploying commercial solar projects for utilities. First Solar has more than 10 GW installed worldwide, making it the leading global provider of photovoltaic energy solutions.
Zacks Rank
First Solar carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A couple of other favorably ranked stocks in the solar space include JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. JASO and ReneSola Ltd. SOL, both carrying the same rank as First Solar.
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Click to get this free report EDISON INTL (EIX): Free Stock Analysis Report JA SOLAR HOLDGS (JASO): Free Stock Analysis Report FIRST SOLAR INC (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis Report RENESOLA LT-ADR (SOL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research