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Suntech has been selected to supply more than 25,000 crystalline-silicon photovoltaic modules for Recurrent Energy's 5MW municipal solar power project atop the Sunset Reservoir in San Francisco, CA. The modules will be delivered by the fourth quarter of 2009, and the project will be completed in 2010, according to the participants.

The project, contracted by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in late 2008 and signed into law by Mayor Gavin Newsom in May 2009, will more than triple San Francisco's total municipal solar power output--from 2MW to 7MW. The commission claims the system will be California's largest PV installation to date, once completed.

Recurrent Energy will own and operate the installation and sell all the renewable electricity to the city and county of San Francisco under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The 5MW system is anticipated to produce 6.56 million kWhr in the first year. Under the agreement, Recurrent Energy will assume the financing, construction, and operating obligations for the project.

After extensive vetting, Recurrent Energy said it chose Suntech's high-efficiency solar modules to maximize energy production after considering the site's urban setting and finite usable roof space. The panels effectively convert the sun's rays into electricity in low and indirect light, an important factor given the site's variety of weather conditions during the year.