Apple has signed an agreement to pay US$848 million to purchase 130 megawatts of solar capacity from First Solar’s California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County, California.
The agreement is covered under a 25-year power-purchase agreement. The 2,900-acre California Flats Solar Project occupies 3 percent of a property owned by Hearst Corporation in Cholame, California. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2015, and to be completed by the end of 2016. The output of the remaining 150MW of the project will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a separate long-term PPA.
Separately, First Solar has commissioned the 550-MW Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, located in Desert Center, Riverside County, California. The project, owned by NextEra Energy Resources, GE Energy Financial Services and Sumitomo Corp, was constructed and is operated by First Solar.
The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is located on approximately 3,600 acres of land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management in Riverside County.