HIGH FINANCE FOR CONCENTRATING PV

Xcel Energy to Buy Power From Goldman's Solar Plant in Southern Colorado
Christopher Martin, August 9, 2010 (Boomberg News)

"Xcel Energy Inc., the owner of utilities that operate in eight U.S. states, will buy the power from a solar plant in southern Colorado that’s being developed by [Goldman Sachs Group Inc. unit] Cogentrix Energy LLC .

"The 30-megawatt solar field will concentrate the sun’s rays onto photovoltaic panels that generate electricity, providing enough power for about 6,500 homes…"

A CPV concentrating unit. (click to enlarge)

"When completed, the concentrating photovoltaic, or CPV, plant will be the largest of its kind in the world…The technology represents less than 0.5 percent of total installed global solar energy. Cogentrix will use panels designed by…California-based Amonix Inc., which plans to complete a factory near Las Vegas by the end of this year…"

A CPV panel. (click to enlarge)

"Construction will begin early next year and the solar farm should be generating electricity in the second quarter of 2012. Financing for the project, the cost of which wasn’t disclosed, is ‘in the works…’

"Xcel Energy’s Public Service Co. of Colorado, the state’s largest utility, will buy power from the plant [at an undisclosed price] under a 20-year agreement…"