22 September 2011

First Solar 550MW Topaz Solar Farm to miss DOE loan guarantee deadline

First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, which makes thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) as well as providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, says that the Topaz Solar Farm project will not meet the statutory deadline to receive a federal loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The Topaz project meets the standards for inclusion in the loan guarantee program and received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee from DOE on 30 June, but there was insufficient time to process all requirements before the 30 September deadline specified under Section 1705 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, says First Solar. The firm adds that it is in advanced talks regarding the sale and financing of the project with potential buyers utilizing a different transaction structure that does not require a DOE loan guarantee.

The 230MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 project and the 550MW Desert Sunlight project, which also received conditional commitments from the DOE for loan guarantees on 30 June, remain in the DOE process.

First Solar is developing the 550MW Topaz Solar Farm photovoltaic facility in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Topaz is expected to create an average of 400 jobs during the three-year construction process and use modules from First Solar’s Perrysburg, OH, and Mesa, AZ factories. Upon completion, it is expected to generate enough solar electricity to power about 160,000 average California homes (displacing about 377,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year).  

Tags: First Solar Thin-film photovoltaic CdTe

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