First Solar has completed one of the world’s largest PV power plants, Desert Sunlight in the Mojave Desert in Riverside County of California.
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell joined state officials to open the plant in the town of Desert Center, California.
The 550 MW solar farm received $1.5 billion grant from the federal loan-guarantee program announced by U.S. Department of Energy.
It is expected that the plant will generate enough electricity to power 160,000 average California homes.
First Solar was responsible for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction services.
Co-owned by NextEra Energy Resources, GE Energy Financial Services and Sumitomo Corporation of America, the plant will displace approximately 300,000 tons of carbon annually.
Construction of the facility began in September 2011.
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The 16 km2 project is located on land provided by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
It is estimated that, the project will support the region with around $ 336 million of indirect benefits through local contracts and US$ 15 million in new sales tax revenues.
The money given by the project’s owners will also be used to fund $400,000, to upgrade the community center in nearby Desert Center, as part of an agreement with Riverside County.
The facility is located near the 250 MW McCoy Solar Energy Project developed by First Solar for a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources.
The federal loan guarantee program has so far supported five solar photovoltaic projects in US. Beginning from 2009, 17 large-scale solar projects have been financed, according to a Department of Energy report.
The Department of Energy expects to make a profit of $5 billion to $6 billion from the program.
In a recent initiative, First Solar signed a $848 million solar power deal with devices major Apple to supply power from its project in Monterey County of California.
Apple will receive electricity from 130 MW solar project under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Apple will utilize the power in its campus in Silicon Valley, and its other offices and 52 stores in the state.
Sabeena Wahid