First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) has struck a deal to sell a 10-GW utility-scale solar project platform to the development arm of US independent power producer Leeward Renewable Energy LLC.
The agreement concerns, among other schemes, the Rabbitbrush, Madison, Oak Trail, Horizon and Ridgely projects, totalling 773 MW, that are expected to enter the construction phase in the next two years, plus the operational 30-MW Barilla solar power plant. Key members of First Solar’s project development team will also be transferred.
The projects within the pipeline being acquired are located in California, the Southwest and the Southeast. They expand the buyer’s own solar development pipeline to roughly 14 GW, providing the new owner with geographic diversity and the opportunity to expand into new markets, it said.
The overall deal also includes the purchase by Dallas-based Leeward of First Solar modules. More specifically, it will buy Series 6 photovoltaic (PV) modules with a total direct current (DC) capacity of 650 MW. These will be used for the firm’s additional development opportunities.
In addition, the firm will make orders for 888 MW DC of Series 6 modules for the five above-mentioned development projects, and will purchase 242 MW DC of Series 4 panels that are safe-harboured under the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) programme, including 148 MW DC already booked.
To sum it all up, Leeward will acquire the project platform and make orders for about 1.8 GW DC of First Solar PV modules in total. The transaction is seen wrapping up this quarter, subject to regulatory clearance.
First Solar will keep 1.1 GW of US projects, which it intends to divest separately. The company’s CEO Mark Widmar commented that the current sale is the result of the strategic review announced last year.
