First Solars power-plant building boom (at Fortune)

Thin is in when it comes to solar power plants. First Solar, the Walton family-backed maker of thin-film photovoltaic modules, on Thursday announced its second solar power plant. The latest project is a 10-megawatt photovoltaic power station to be built for Sempra Generation in Nevada. Two weeks ago, California regulators approved a 7.5-megawatt - expandable to 21 megawatts - First Solar power plant to be constructed in the Mojave to generate electricity for utility Southern California Edison . Thin-film solar technology layers solar cells on plates of glass or flexible materials, a process that lowers production costs with the trade-off being lower efficiency at converting sunlight into electricity. What’s notable about the Nevada First Solar project is that it will be constructed adjacent to a Sempra natural gas-fired power... [read full story]