Skip to main content

Blythe Solar Project May Be Built With FirstSolar Panels

Support Provided By
BlythesolarandMcCoys-thumb-600x400-36915

Blythe Solar Power Project from the air, November 2011 | Photo: Chris Clarke/KCET

Thin-film photovoltaic panel manufacturer First Solar may have an in for supplying solar panels for the one gigawatt Blythe Solar Power Project, according to documents project developer NextEra submitted to the California Energy Commission (CEC) last week.

The solar project, on 5,950 acres of public land west of Blythe, California, was picked up by Florida-based NextEra after its initial developer, Solar Millennium, field for bankruptcy in April.

Originally proposed as a parabolic trough concentrating solar thermal facility, the Blythe project was stalled after PV prices started to drop in 2009-10. In 2011, Solar Millennium told the CEC it was heading back to the drawing board, redesigning the site to use much more cost-effective photovoltaics.

According to reporter Christopher Martin at Bloomberg, NextEra is looking at cadmium telluride thin-film PV as a possible technology on which to base the reconfigured project, but the company hasn't officially settled on which flavor of PV it will use -- or on a supplier (or suppliers) for said PV.

FisrtSolar isn't commenting on a possible deal either, though its stock rose 11% after Bloomberg broke the story. But if NextEra does go with cadmium telluride as its PV tech of choice, FirstSolar will likely be first in line as a potential supplier. FirstSolar is the largest manufacturer of cadmium telluride PV in the country, and may well be the only one with the capacity to supply a gigawatt's worth of panels.

Besides, the companies have already worked together: FirstSolar sold the Desert Sunlight project near Joshua Tree National Park to NextEra, and is competing that plant's construction.

ReWire is dedicated to covering renewable energy in California. Keep in touch by liking us on Facebook, and help shape our editorial direction by taking this quick survey here.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.