30 September 2011

Tenaska chooses First Solar’s CdTe PV modules and EPC services for 130MW Southern California plant

First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA has been chosen by Tenaska Solar Ventures to provide cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules as well as engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) services for a solar generating plant to be located on 950 acres in the southern part of Imperial County, California.

Tenaska Solar Ventures will manage the Imperial Solar Energy Center South project for CSOLAR IV South LLC, which will develop, own and operate it. Both Tenaska Solar Ventures and CSOLAR IV South LLC are affiliates of electric generation firm Tenaska of Omaha, NE, USA.

The proposed Imperial Solar Energy Center South project will be a ground-mounted solar power generating system with a capacity of about 130MW. When operating at peak times, the project will produce enough electricity to meet the needs of at least 44,000 California homes. The electricity produced will be sold under a 25-year power-purchase agreement to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).

The project is expected to create about 250 jobs at peak construction and four to five direct, long-term jobs to support ongoing operations. Construction is expected to begin in late 2011, with commercial operation starting in 2014.

“The selection of First Solar to design and build Imperial Solar Energy Center South is a significant milestone in the development of new renewable sources of energy for Southern California,” comments Bart Ford, Tenaska’s VP of development.  

Tags: First Solar Thin-film photovoltaic CdTe

Visit: www.firstsolar.com

Visit: www.tenaska.com