| First Solar Sells Desert Stateline Stake to Southern Co | |
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First Solar Inc. FSLR sealed a deal with Southern Power, an affiliate of the utility Southern Company SO, under which it will sell its controlling interest in Desert Stateline Facility in California to the latter.
The 300-megawatt (MW) project will be located on 1,685 acres of federally managed public land in San Bernardino County with around 3.2 million of First Solar's thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar modules mounted on fixed-tilt tables. The Desert Stateline Facility will likely generate enough electricity to meet the energy needs of nearly 100,000 average homes in the region once operational.
The largest U.S. solar panel manufacturer, First Solar will retain a stake in the project. Construction began in Oct 2014 and is expected to be fully operational in the third quarter of 2016. The power generated will be sold to Edison International’s EIX Southern California utility unit under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The Desert Stateline project is First Solar’s fourth deal with Southern Company and the two companies are “actively discussing ways to continue and broaden the relationship.”
Solar companies were already on a roll owing to increasing consciousness about greenhouse gas emissions. The Obama administration’s stricter finalized Clean Power Plan for CO2 reduction of 28% by 2025 and 32% by 2030, from 2005 levels, will give a further boost to home-grown solar companies.
Likewise, the latest acquisition by Southern Company speaks of a similar renewable energy drive at the electric utilities. This utility company is expanding its green portfolio and has added or announced over 3,300 MW of renewable projects since 2012.
Utility-scale, residential-scale and community solar PV projects provide important benefits to consumers, businesses as well as the society at large. A First Solar study reveals that the generation cost of energy from 300 MW of utility-scale PV solar is approximately one-half the cost per kWh of the output from an equivalent 300 MW of 5 kW residential-scale system when deployed on the Xcel Energy Colorado system.
Again, 300 MW of utility-scale PV solar installed in a utility-scale pattern avoids around 50% more carbon emissions than an equivalent amount of residential-scale PV solar.
Last month, First Solar reported second-quarter 2015 results with its earnings sweeping away the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 643% and improving considerably year over year. The upside came on the back of higher systems project revenue as well as project cost improvements.
Zacks Rank
First Solar carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. JASO is a better-ranked stock in the same space, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JA SOLAR HOLDGS (JASO): Free Stock Analysis Report SOUTHERN CO (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report EDISON INTL (EIX): Free Stock Analysis Report FIRST SOLAR INC (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
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First Solar is based in United states of america. First Solar is listed in Germany and in United States of America. Its market capitalisation is US$ 18.5 billions as of today (€ 17.3 billions). Its stock quote reached its lowest recent point on June 11, 2010 at US$ 100.19, and its highest recent level on May 01, 2024 at US$ 177.58. First Solar has 104 270 000 shares outstanding. |