NRG + SUNPOWER = 250 MW PV PLANT

NRG, SunPower Team for 250 Megawatts: More on the Way; Big projects are becoming the face of solar
Michael Kanellos, November 30, 2010 (Greentech Media)

"…NRG Energy…solar subsidiary, NRG Solar, will become the owner of the California Valley Solar Ranch PV park being developed by SunPower. The 250-megawatt plant--the biggest one ever developed by SunPower--will begin construction in the second half of next year and start producing at least some power by the end of 2011. The bulk of the plant will come on line in 2012 and 2013.

"Projects like this are expected to be one of the drivers for the U.S. and global solar industry. Right now, utility scale solar parks in the U.S. are capable of generating 250 megawatts…approximately the same amount of solar power installed in one of the slowest months ever (February 2010) for the German solar industry."

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"But contracts have been signed to build nearly five gigawatts worth of utility scale PV parks between now and 2015 in the U.S. The declining price of solar modules is also making these large module parks more attractive than solar thermal parks. Even if only half of those projects ever see the light of day, it would represent a 10 fold increase in the amount of utility scale solar fields in the U.S. over a five year period…"

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"Late last month, NRG announced it would invest $300 million into Brightsource Energy's Ivanpah power plant. Unlike Valley Solar Ranch (Dressing), Ivanpah is a solar thermal plant. Still, tax credits shine down on both projects. NRG also owns the 21 megawatt photovoltaic facility in Blythe, California, currently the state's largest.

"SunPower, along with First Solar Sempra Generation and SunEdison, have been some of the leaders in the U.S. when it comes to large-scale PV projects…[U]tility deals are particularly important because they can be used to soak up production of solar modules…In September, Sharp purchased Recurrent Energy for $305 million. Iberdrola, juwi and several Chinese manufacturers also want to expand their presence in the U.S. utility market…[A]ll are scrambling to find development partners."