Turner Renewable Energy, owned by media moghul Ted Turner, will be one of the new owners of a 20MW thin-film PV plant in the US constructed by Solar Frontier Americas.
Turner Energy and utility holding company Southern Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company, formed a strategic alliance in 2010 to develop renewable energy projects. The latest acquisition is Calipatria Solar Facility in Imperial County, California.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Power from the plant, as well as renewable energy credits (RECs) will be sold to investor-owned utility San Diego Gas & Electric under a 20 year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Solar Frontier Americas, a branch of Japan-headquartered Solar Frontier, said the plant will produce around 52,000MWh of electricity annually from its 130,000 CIS thin-film modules. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the project’s completion in late January.
Turner Energy and Southern Power previously bought a 15MW plant from Solar Frontier Americas in October. The latest acquisition brings the pair’s renewable assets in operation or development to 340MW across nine projects. Solar Frontier Americas, meanwhile, bought a 280MW pipeline of projects in North America in April 2015.
According to a factsheet on the Southern Company website, a rival thin-film firm, US-headquartered First Solar, will operate and maintain the Calipatria plant.