FURIOUS SOLAR ACTION

Almost $5B in DOE Loans: Antelope Valley, Desert Sunlight, CVSR Funded, Sold; Prologis Funded; $6 billion in loan guarantees completed in the last week of the 1705 program
Eric Wesoff, September 30, 2011 (Greentech Media)

"Almost $5 billion in DOE loan guarantees for immense solar projects were finalized on the last day of the program…The DOE completed a loan guarantee for the 550-megawatt (AC) Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and immediately sold the project to NextEra Energy…

"...The 230-megawatt Antelope Valley solar farm finalized its loan and was sold to Exelon…Project Amp was also finalized, receiving a partial guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan. This project will allow the installation of up to 752 megawatts of solar panels, close to doubling the amount of PV installed in the U.S. in 2010…"

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"The DOE also finalized a $1.237 billion loan guarantee to support the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch Project in San Luis Obispo County, CA, sponsored by SunPower and just acquired by NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG). Construction of CVSR is in progress, and the first phase of the project looks to start generating power early in 2012…

"...Earlier in the week the DOE finalized a $337 million loan guarantee to Mesquite Solar 1, part of a 700-megawatt photovoltaic project as well as for the Crescent Dunes solar thermal project which includes thermal storage for $737 million…[T]here are seven more outstanding conditional commitments for solar projects…"