First Solar has bought Edison Mission Group’s pipeline of utility-scale solar power projects. Although the acquisition of some of the group’s PV plant project pipeline in California and the Southwest is a change to First Solar’s large-scale project plans, module demand from the EMG projects was included in advanced pipeline information given by First Solar in December 2009, according to the company. The financial terms of the undisclosed small utility-scale project acquisitions was also not disclosed.
“Acquiring the EMG development pipeline extends First Solar’s leadership in the U.S. utility market,” said Lisa Bodensteiner, First Solar vice president of business development for North America. “It builds on our strategy to cultivate robust and predictable module demand in utility-scale applications.”
According to the companies, the acquired projects had been developed together in the past and are mainly planned for development on private land. They range in size from 20 to 150MW, compared to the recent multi-hundred-megawatt projects that First Solar has in its existing pipeline. These EMG projects are also not yet contracted with any utilities.
