Cash equity ownership transfers to long-term owner
Minority
tax equity ownership held by GE Energy Financial Services, Goldman Sachs
affiliate
TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced it has completed the
sale of the cash equity interests in the 250 Megawatt (MW)ACMoapa Southern Paiute Solar Project in Nevada to global private asset
manager Capital Dynamics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Benoit Allenhaut (left), Capital Dynamics' Director of Clean Energy and Infrastructure, talking with First Solar's Chief Commercial Officer Georges Antoun (center) and Laura Abram (right), Director of Government and Public Affairs, at the formal commissioning of the Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project on March 17 in Moapa, Nevada. The 250MW project has a long-term power purchase agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to bring clean, renewable energy to Los Angeles residents. (Photo: First Solar, Inc.)
Minority tax equity interests in the project are shared by GE (NYSE:GE)
unit GE Energy Financial Services, and an affiliate of the Goldman Sachs
Group.
Located on the Moapa River Indian Reservation approximately 30 miles
north of Las Vegas, this facility is the first-ever utility-scale solar
power plant to be built on tribal land, and has a long-term power
purchase agreement (PPA) with LADWP to bring clean, renewable energy to
Los Angeles residents. The solar power plant is capable of generating
enough clean energy to power approximately 111,000 homes.
"This has been an exciting project to develop and build," said Georges
Antoun, First Solar's Chief Commercial Officer. "Our technology is
driving down the cost of solar electricity and enabling power providers
to include competitive, reliable renewable energy in their portfolios.
We are proud to transfer ownership of this power generation asset to
Capital Dynamics."
"The Moapa project is an important step in the Clean Energy and
Infrastructure strategy of Capital Dynamics," said John Breckenridge,
Capital Dynamics' Head of Clean Energy and Infrastructure. "We continue
to be long-term owners of high quality power generation assets in North
America and Europe. We are particularly pleased that with Moapa, we
expand our strong relationship with First Solar."
First Solar Energy Services will operate and maintain the power plant
for Capital Dynamics.
By using renewable energy from the sun, the Moapa Southern Paiute Solar
Project will avoid approximately 341,000 metric tons per year of carbon
dioxide emissions that would have been produced if the electricity had
been generated using fossil fuels - the equivalent of taking nearly
73,000 cars off the road. First Solar's technology creates no air or
water pollution and uses no water to generate electricity.
About First Solar, Inc.
First Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic
(PV) solar systems which use its advanced module and system technology.
The company's integrated power plant solutions deliver an economically
attractive alternative to fossil-fuel electricity generation today. From
raw material sourcing through end-of-life module recycling, First
Solar's renewable energy systems protect and enhance the environment. www.firstsolar.com
About Capital Dynamics' Clean Energy and Infrastructure team
Capital Dynamics' Clean Energy and Infrastructure (CEI) team holds
extensive expertise in investing, financing, owning, and operating
conventional and clean energy businesses globally. Established to
capture attractive investment opportunities in this class of real
assets, Capital Dynamics' CEI mandate is to invest directly in proven
clean energy technologies - such as solar, wind, biomass, conventional
gas generation and waste gas fueled power generation - across the globe.
Since the establishment of Capital Dynamics' CEI business, the CEI team
has acquired, built, and now manages nearly 2,400 MW of clean energy
capacity in North America and Europe.
The information contained in this press release is not to be considered
investment advice and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to purchase securities or enter into any
agreement with Capital Dynamics.
About the Moapa Project
The Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project is a 250MWACsolar
photovoltaic facility located in Clark County, Nevada. The facility
began operating in December 2016 and sells its entire output to Los
Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) under a 25-year power
purchase agreement. The California State Teachers' Retirement System
(CalSTRS) and the Netherland's APG Asset Management were also
significant equity participants in the project.
For First Solar Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant
to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements, among
other things, concerning: effects resulting from certain module
manufacturing changes and associated restructuring activities; our
business strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and
management plans for our business and the markets in which we operate;
future financial results, operating results, revenues, gross margin,
operating expenses, products, projected costs (including estimated
future module collection and recycling costs), warranties, solar module
technology and cost reduction roadmaps, restructuring, product
reliability, investments in unconsolidated affiliates and capital
expenditures; our ability to continue to reduce the cost per watt of our
solar modules; our ability to reduce the costs to construct PV solar
power systems; research and development programs and our ability to
improve the conversion efficiency of our solar modules; our ability to
expand manufacturing capacity worldwide; sales and marketing
initiatives; and competition. These forward-looking statements are often
characterized by the use of words such as "estimate," "expect,"
"anticipate," "project," "plan," "intend," "seek," "believe,"
"forecast," "foresee," "likely," "may," "should," "goal," "target,"
"might," "will," "could," "predict," "continue" and the negative or
plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking
statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and
our projections about future events. You should not place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to
update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason. These
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to, the matters discussed in Item 1A: "Risk
Factors," of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170330005274/en/
Capital Dynamics Media
John Breckenridge
+1 917-477-9960
jbreckenridge@capdyn.com
or
First
Solar Media
Steve Krum
+1 602-427-3359
steve.krum@firstsolar.com
or
First
Solar Investors
Stephen Haymore
+1 602-414-9315
stephen.haymore@firstsolar.com
Source: First Solar, Inc.
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