8minutenergy Renewables and Gestamp Solar obtain approval for 275MW PV projects

August 28, 2012
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

8minutenergy Renewables, a developer of utility-scale solar PV projects, has received conditional use permits (CUP) for three of its large-scale PV projects from the Imperial County Board of Supervisors. The projects have a total capacity of 275MW and will be built in the Imperial Valley, California, US, in partnership with Gestamp Solar.

The three projects comprise the 70MW Calipatria Solar Farm I, the 50MW Midway Solar Farm I and the 155MW Midway Solar Farm II. Together, they cover approximately 1,700 acres of low-productivity farmland in the Imperial Valley. The 70MW project covers an area of 582 acres, the 50MW project covers 326 acres and the 155MW project covers 803 acres. The latter two projects are expected to begin generating solar power in 2014.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The projects are already in the advanced stages of engineering development. However, under the terms of the CUPs, 8minutenergy and Gestamp Solar must conduct an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on each of the three projects.

In 2011, the two companies signed Generation Interconnection Agreements (GIA) with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) for the three PV plants. Together, the projects are said to generate enough electricity to power around 100,000 houses in California.

Commenting on how the projects will affect the local economy, Martin Hermann, CEO of 8minutenergy Renewables, said, “Our three solar farm projects will ultimately create over 300 direct and indirect construction jobs, as well as nearly 20 direct and indirect permanent, well-paying jobs in an area with high unemployment. They will also contribute millions of dollars in related benefits to the local economy in Imperial Valley. 8minutenergy has a portfolio of more than 2,000 MW of renewable solar projects under development on private, disturbed land in California.”

John Pierre Menvielle, president, IID Board of Directors, added, “”The Imperial Irrigation District is pleased to see the Imperial County Board of Supervisors approve these three 8minutenergy projects because they are in the IID transitional cluster and they have already signed Generation Interconnection Agreements. The projects are currently in the engineering development stage with the IID, and once operational they will pay wheeling charges and thus benefit IID rate payers.”

Read Next

Premium
October 24, 2025
Marcel Suri explores the datasets that will help improve the accuracy of PV output estimation and drive better performance.
October 24, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker and Saudi-based energy company Abunayyan Holding have formed a joint venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia.
October 24, 2025
The Saudi state-owned renewables developer Masdar has begun construction on a giant solar-plus-storage project in Abu Dhabi.
October 23, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in Europe in Q3 2025 fell below €35/MWh, reaching €34.25/MWh, according to LevelTen Energy.
October 23, 2025
Infrastructure investment firm Nuveen Infrastructure has secured US$171 million in financing for a 137MW solar PV plant in South Korea.
October 23, 2025
US solar manufacturer T1 Energy sold approximately 725MW of solar modules in Q3 2025, as it continues to expand US manufacturing capabilities.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal