First Solar completes acquisition of Nextlight Renewable Power

With the acquisition, First Solar now has power purchase agreements for 2.2 gigawatts of utility-scale solar projects in North America. Nextlight’s team of project developers and other staff have joined First Solar.
The company is now expected to start construction on the 290 megawatt Agua Caliente Solar Project in Yuma County, Arizona, which was developed by Nextlight. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the project’s power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company on June 3 and the appeal period expired without challenge on July 7. Construction is expected to start this year.
In a statement, the company said: “The transaction represents another strategic step in First Solar’s expansion in the U.S. utility-scale power market, which began in 2007 with the acquisition of Turner Renewable Energy and continued with the acquisitions of solar project pipelines from Optisolar in 2009 and Edison Mission Group in 2010.”