US thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar manufacturer First Solar has signed an agreement to supply 457MW of thin-film modules to Goldman Sachs Renewable Power spin-out MN8 Energy.

The agreement will see First Solar supply 170MW of Series 6 Plus bifacial modules and 287MW of Series 7 modules. All modules will be used in solar PV projects in the northeastern and southern US.

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Currently, MN8 Energy owns and operates a 3.2GW solar portfolio in the US. First Solar transacted with MN8 Energy before, as the latter bought a 123MW solar PV project in California in 2020.

MN8 Energy was founded inside Goldman Sachs Asset Management as Goldman Sachs Renewable Power in 2017. In 2022, it was spun out into a separate, independently owned company called MN8 Energy, and around 100 employees moved to the new entity.

Before this agreement, First Solar also signed an agreement with renewable energy company Birch Creek Energy to supply 547MW of modules. Under the agreement, First Solar will supply its Series 6 Plus bifacial thin-film PV modules to the St. Louis-based company. Birch Creek Energy said the modules will be deployed across its development pipeline in the US.

Last month, MN8 Energy secured a private placement of US$325 million through selling convertible preferred stock to two investment firms. A total of US$200 million of the investment came from Mercuria Energy Group while the remaining US$125 million came from Ridgewood Infrastructure. Mercuria will obtain one board seat as well as an observer seat on the MN8 board, while Ridgewood will have an observer seat.

NASDAQ-listed First Solar is due to release its first quarter 2024 financial results today (1 May) after markets close.

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