First Solar builds manufacturing momentum in US, Germany

Construction of a new 66 megawatt (MW) solar power project in California is set to start before the end of the year, with completion expected by the fall of 2012.

NRG Energy plans to develop the Alpine project with the help of First Solar. Electricity generated by the plant will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The project, which will use First Solar’s advanced thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, is expected to generate enough power to meet the annual needs of nearly 25,000 homes.

“Less than two years ago, NRG and First Solar began our productive collaboration for our first solar plant at Blythe, which at 21 megawatts was the largest solar plant in California at the time,” said Tom Doyle, president of NRG’s Solar and West Region. “Alpine is three times that size, so we’ve really come a long way together in a short amount of time.”

Citing “global supply and demand dynamics,” First Solar today announced that it will postpone commissioning of a new factory in Vietnam. However, it will continue with plans to develop a plant in Mesa, Arizona, to supply photovoltaic modules to its solar-energy projects in North America. Those projects, which amount to a total capacity of 2.7 gigawatts, include the Agua Caliente, Desert Sunlight, Antelope Valley Solar Ranch and Topaz projects.

First Solar this week also inaugurated its second manufacturing plant in Frankfurt, Germany, and marked the production of the new plant’s one millionth solar module. The factory, which reached full production in October, will manufacture 250 MW a year of solar modules. The expansion doubles First Solar’s annual production capacity in Germany to 500 MW.