First Solar Breaks Ground On 150 MW California Solar Farm
First Solar has now officially begun work on the 150 megawatt (MW) AC Solar Gen 2 project in Imperial Valley, California.
At the height of construction, First Solar notes that 800 people will be employed by the company. Additionally, the large solar farm will “generate about $150,000 in property taxes annually and $4.6 million under the Public Benefits Agreement.” Clearly, that’s all a good boost for local economies.
Furthermore, this clean energy project will cut local and global pollution. “Under a 25-year power purchase agreement between SDG&E and First Solar, the 150 MW project will generate enough clean energy to power more than 60,000 average California homes, displacing more than 115,000 metric tons of CO2 per year (the equivalent of taking 22,000 cars off the road) and saving 93,000 metric tons of water per year.”
First Solar just purchased the project in April of this year. The project will use a tracking system and is expected to be completed in July 2014.
First Solar is no stranger to large-scale solar projects. It is the #1 utility-scale solar developer in the world in terms of capacity (by far). It is also a top solar module producer, the only thin-film solar module producer in the top 10. In this particular region, “First Solar also developed and is constructing the 139 MW Campo Verde Project in El Centro, which is expected to be complete by the end of October,” First Solar adds. “Additionally, the company is completing construction of the 130 MW Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center South project in Calexico for project owner and developer Tenaska.”
Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica's Comment Policy
