 | 10/16/2013 | First Solar to Build 250MW Power Plant in California for NextEra Energy Resources |
First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) announced today it has entered into an agreement to construct a 250 megawatt (MW)AC solar power plant in Riverside County, California, for a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC.
The McCoy Solar Energy Project will be located on approximately 2,300 acres of mostly public land provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approximately 13 miles northwest of Blythe, California. Under the agreement, First Solar will provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction services, using First Solar's cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic thin-film modules.
The project is located near the 550MWAC Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, 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.
"First Solar is pleased to have this opportunity to work again with NextEra," said Roger Bredder, First Solar's Director of Business Development for the U.S. "And we are proud to continue providing jobs in Riverside County."
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.
The McCoy Solar Energy Project construction award reaffirms First Solar's position as one of the world's leading developers and builders of PV solar power systems. The company was recently ranked as the second largest contractor in the global power sector by Engineering News-Review.
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| 10/16/2013 | First Solar On Tear Building Huge Solar Projects |
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) is on a tear when it comes to building some of the biggest utility-scale solar plants in the US.
The latest plant it's been selected to build is the 250 megawatt (MW) McCoy Solar Energy Project in Riverside County, California.
NextEra Energy Resources owns the plant, which will be built on 2,300 acres of mostly public land. First Solar gets to use its thin-film solar PV panels, giving it income from the panels and project construction.
Construction on McCoy starts late next year. It will create about 400 jobs before coming online two years later.
McCoy is near a much bigger plant, the 550 MW Desert Sunlight Solar Farm. First Solar is building it after selling the project to NextEra, GE Energy Financial Services and Sumitomo Corporation of America.
Because of the many solar plants First Solar builds, it is the second largest contractor in the global power sector, according to Engineering News-Review.
Earlier this year, Department of Interior approved McCoy, which eventually could grow to 750 MW on 4400 acres- the largest in the US by far - supplying 225,000 homes. It's located in Riverside East Solar Energy Zone, an area established through the Western Solar Energy Plan as most suitable for solar development.
At the time, Interior also approved two other big plants as part of President Obama's "fast-track" list. The seven wind and solar projects include the largest wind farm in the US at 3 gigawatts and add up to nearly 5 GW of energy, enough to power about 1.5 million homes.
First Solar is also building the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm and the 290 MW Agua Caliente project.
Because of all these big projects, solar energy prices are down by more than two-thirds over the past five years in the western US, according to a report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
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| 3/13/2013 | Secretary Salazar Approves Three Renewable Energy Projects in California and Nevada |
As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the approval of three major renewable energy projects that, when built, are expected to deliver 1,100 megawatts to the grid – enough to power more than 340,000 homes – and help support more than 1,000 jobs through construction and operations.
The 750-megawatt McCoy Solar Energy Project and 150-megawatt Desert Harvest Solar Farm are both located in California’s Riverside East Solar Energy Zone, an area established through the Western Solar Energy Plan as most suitable for solar development. The 200-megawatt Searchlight Wind Energy Project will be constructed on public lands in Clark County, Nevada.
“These renewable energy projects reflect the Obama Administration's commitment to expand domestic energy production on our public lands and diversify our nation's energy portfolio,” Secretary Salazar said. “In just over four years, we have advanced 37 wind, solar and geothermal projects on our public lands – or enough to power more than 3.8 million American homes. These projects are bolstering rural economies by generating good jobs and reliable power and strengthening our national energy security.”
Secretary Salazar made the announcement today in San Francisco with California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. Working together, the State of California and the Department of the Interior have established a unique partnership in support of the state and federal government’s clean energy goals. Since 2009, the aligned federal and state permitting and environmental review processes have advanced 5 gigawatts of wind, solar, geothermal and transmission projects on public lands in California – and more than 15 gigawatts statewide.
Interior and California agencies are also engaged in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, a mutual landscape-level planning effort to streamline renewable energy development in appropriate areas in the California desert, while at the same time conserving important natural resources and natural communities for species protection and recovery. A draft of the plan is expected this summer.
Since 2009 – and with today’s projects – Interior has approved 37 renewable energy projects, including 20 utility-scale solar facilities, 8 wind farms and 9 geothermal plants, with associated transmission corridors and infrastructure to connect to established power grids. When built, these projects will provide more than 11,500 megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power more than 3.8 million homes, and support an estimated 13,500 construction and operations jobs.
Additionally, the Bureau of Land Management has identified 23 active renewable energy proposals slated for review this year and next, including 14 solar facilities, 6 wind farms and 3 geothermal plants. The BLM identified these projects through a process that emphasizes early consultation and collaboration with its sister agencies at Interior – the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.
“The President has called for America to continue taking bold steps on clean energy,” said BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze. “Our Smart-from-the-Start analysis has helped us do just that, paving the way for responsible development of utility-scale renewable energy projects in the right way and in the right places.”
The approved projects underwent extensive environmental review and public comment. The companies agreed to undertake significant mitigation efforts to minimize impacts to wildlife, water, historical, cultural and other resources. State and federal agencies have set up a joint compensation fund operated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help mitigate impacts. The projects will displace an estimated 800,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases each year (equivalent to more than 150,000 cars), while generating tens of millions of dollars in construction payroll, local housing demand, increased tax revenue and purchases of local goods and services during construction and operation.
The McCoy Solar Energy Project, located about 13 miles northwest of Blythe, CA, was proposed by McCoy Solar, LLC (a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC). The 750-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility would be one of the largest solar projects in the world, and encompass about 7,700 acres of BLM-managed lands and 477 acres of private land. Because the BLM worked closely with the developer to reduce the footprint, the project will occupy only 4,394 acres. McCoy Solar has agreed to purchase more than 4,500 acres of habitat to protect the Desert Tortoise, Burrowing Owl, and Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard species. The project is expected to employ approximately 500 workers during peak construction, and 34 permanent jobs. When operational, the facility would generate enough clean power for an estimated 225,000 homes in southern California. A 12.5-mile generation transmission line would connect the project to Southern California Edison’s Colorado River Substation. Click here for a fact sheet on the McCoy Solar Energy Project and here for a map.
The Desert Harvest Solar Farm, proposed by EDF Renewable Energy (formerly enXco) on a site six miles north of Desert Center, CA, would encompass about 1,208 acres of BLM-managed lands for the 150-megawatt photovoltaic facility. The project would have a peak construction workforce of about 250 employees and create 8 permanent jobs. The facility will use an efficient single-axis tracking technology that allows the solar panel arrays to follow the sun to produce more electricity for the same amount of ground disturbance. The project’s infrastructure will be concentrated with that of a nearby solar project, minimizing new ground disturbance. The BLM added requirements to ensure that the plant will not contribute to overdraft of the local groundwater basin. When operational, the facility would generate enough electricity to power an estimated 45,000 homes in southern California. The project also includes an on-site substation and 230-kilovolt line to the Red Bluff Substation, which will connect the project to the Southern California Edison regional transmission grid. Click here for a fact sheet on the Desert Harvest Solar project and here for a map.
The Searchlight Wind Energy Project will be built on 18,949 acres of BLM-managed land near Searchlight, Nevada, 60 miles southeast of Las Vegas. The permanent footprint of the 200-megawatt project will be approximately 160 acres. The Western Area Power Administration is proposing to construct, operate and maintain a new switching station to connect the project to the existing power grid. When built, the project would provide enough electricity to power about 70,000 homes. The facility would create an estimated 275 peak jobs, 15 full- and part-time operational jobs and generate about $18.6 million in property and sales tax revenue for local government. Click here for a fact sheet on the Searchlight Wind project and here for a map.
For more information on BLM’s approved and pending renewable energy projects, please visit http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy/renewable_energy.html.
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| 3/1/2013 | 750 MW McCoy Solar Project Put On The Fast Track To Development |
The 750 MW McCoy Solar Photovoltaic Project has been granted an expedited review by California’s Governor Jerry Brown. This puts the NextEra Energy Resources project, located in Riverside County, on the fast track to development. Current plans are for it to be built in two phases, with phase one done by August 2014, followed by phase two in October 2016.
The McCoy Solar Project was granted the expedited review under the Governor’s Jobs and Economic Improvement Act of 2011. That Act was created with the intention of helping clean energy development and job job creation by reducing bureaucratic red-tape. Under the terms of the expedited review, McCoy has agreed to invest at least $100 million into California’s economy during development and construction. Construction is currently scheduled to last 46 months, creating over 340 jobs during that time. With 20 permanent new full-time jobs created once the project is completed.
Once finished, the project will cover 4,315 acres of federal land and 477 acres of private land. And it will generate enough electricity to support about 264,000 homes.
PV Magazine writes: “According to a Plan of Development submitted in August 2011, the photovoltaic project will be built over two phases. An initial 250 MW is set to be built by August 2014, with construction commencing in May 2013. The second phase is then expected to start when commercial operations have begun on the first and will see an additional 250 to 500 MW added. Work is expected to be completed by October 2016.”
At 750 MW, this would be the largest solar power plant in the world if completed today.
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| 2/28/2013 | California governor green-lights 750MW PV project for fast-track review |
Governor of California Edmund Brown has signed a certificate which confirms that the proposed 750MW McCoy Solar Project complies with the Jobs and Economic Improvement Act of 2011, enabling the project to be fast-tracked for a judicial and legislative review.
The 750MW project will represent one of the largest PV projects on public lands in the Californian desert and will be developed, owned and operated by McCoy Solar, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, on 1,780 hectares of land, the majority of which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Riverside County.
The US$100 million project will be built in two phases. As part of the array, a 14.5 mile generation tie-in line and 0.8 hectares switch yard connecting with Southern California Edison’s Colorado River Substation will be built. During peak construction, McCoy Solar believes that the project will hire 600 workers and up to 20 workers during operations.
Output from the proposed project is estimated to be enough to power around 200,000 Californian households. Electricity generated from the first 250MW of the facility will be sold to Southern California Edison under a power purchase agreement with McCoy Solar.
In December 2012, the US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar revealed that the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed 750MW project had been submitted to President Obama’s Administration for approval.
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