First Solar, Inc. announced on August 6th, 2013, it has acquired a pipeline of U.S. and Mexico development assets from Element Power. The 1.5 GW pipeline includes geographically diverse projects in various stages of development. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Included in the pipeline are projects in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Louisiana and Illinois. The projects are competitively positioned in their respective markets and have secured site options and interconnect queue positions, and are at various stages of environmental screening and permitting.
"These U.S. assets are an excellent complement to our existing project pipeline," said Tim Rebhorn, First Solar's Senior Vice President of Business Development for the Americas. "The mix of projects in emerging U.S. regions and an optimized pipeline in established markets will better position First Solar to secure customer off-take agreements."
The portfolio also includes several Mexican projects located in the State of Sonora that are in a position to take advantage of the emerging utility scale PV market in Mexico.
"The Mexican project pipeline strategically positions First Solar for our entry into the market," said Rebhorn. "We are excited by the opportunity to explore new relationships with CFE and with commercial and industrial customers and the Mexican government, and to establish a strong initial presence in the region."
"It is a pleasure to announce the close of a second transaction with First Solar," said Raimund Grube, President and COO of Element Power. "This sale of projects from our portfolio demonstrates a relationship that brings together the strengths of each company to add high quality solar assets to the energy mix in the US and Mexico. As a key component to delivering competitive renewable energy, we look forward to maintaining strong relationships with companies like First Solar who consistently demonstrate a lead position in the industry through successful acquisition, development and construction of solar projects."
Key staff from Element will support a seamless transition of project development activities to First Solar's project development team.