Solar ♦ news digest
approximately 250 construction jobs, as well as over $230 million in new economic activity to the Imperial Valley, according to a county study.
The project gained the approval it needed on December 18th, 2012, from the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) for easements required to cross IID’s Westside Main Canal with the project’s transmission line.
Earlier approvals included a decision to issue a Right of Way grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and a Conditional Use Permit from Imperial County.
“The County of Imperial is very pleased to see the commencement of construction of the Campo Verde Solar Project, which brings numerous benefits to the Valley and our citizens,” says Ray Castillo, County Board President.
“First Solar’s project brings much needed jobs and economic development to the Valley at a time when it is sorely needed. The project also pays added tax revenue, funds for agricultural benefits and community benefits while helping the County diversify its economy. We’ve been working to attract projects like this for the past five or six years and are glad to see it’s finally happening. These projects are really our legacy for the Imperial Valley,” points out Castillo.
“First Solar is grateful to the IID, Imperial County, and the BLM for their support of this project,” continues James F. Cook, First Solar Project Development Director. “Campo Verde is creating badly needed jobs and will help the county and state reach their renewable energy goals.”
First Solar will construct the project using its advanced thin film PV modules that generate clean, renewable energy with no emissions, waste or water consumption during operation. The project will generate enough electricity to power approximately 50,000 average California homes, displacing 80,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking 15,000 cars off the road.
First Solar heats up South America with Solar Chile acquisition
Using First Solar’s CdTe (cadmium telluride) modules, the investment is aimed at advancing PV power plant projects in a sustainable market
First Solar has acquired Solar Chile, a Santiago- based solar development company.
Fundación Chile was an early investor in Solar Chile. The acquisition culminates in a strategic working alliance that First Solar and Fundación Chile formed in October 2011.
Solar Chile has a portfolio of early- to mid-stage utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power projects totalling about 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in Regions I, II, III, and XV in northern Chile, including the Atacama Desert region, which offers the highest solar irradiance in the world.
“We have been very impressed by the quality of the Solar Chile team and the projects they are developing, and we believe that together we will bring even more value to the Chilean market,” says Jim Hughes, First Solar CEO. “Combining Solar Chile’s market knowledge and promising project portfolio with First Solar’s resources, technology and strong execution track record offers Chile a rapid and proven path to add significant solar generation capacity, helping to meet high energy demand and support economic growth.”
“First Solar’s acquisition of Solar Chile is a milestone of enormous significance to our country,” said Alvaro Fischer, President of Fundación Chile. “It highlights the tremendous potential that solar PV energy has to change the demography and the economy of northern Chile, opening it up to new opportunities beyond mining and fishing, into water desalinization, hydrogen production or large green data centres.”
“Chile faces a growing energy demand from its sustained economic growth,” explains Hernán Cheyre, Executive Vice-President of CORFO, the Chilean government’s economic development agency. “Solar energy provides a sustainable and clean energy source that takes advantage of our
January/February 2013
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