Apple makes California solar deal

Electronics manufacturer Apple has announced an $848 million deal to buy electricity from a solar energy project to be developed in California. Project developer First Solar has described the power purchase agreement as "the largest agreement in the industry to provide clean energy to a commercial end user."

Solar photovoltaic panels in the Utah desert.

Earlier this week, Apple announced the deal with First Solar, Inc., to buy power from First Solar's California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County, California.  Under a 25-year power purchase agreement or PPA, Apple will buy the equivalent of 130 megawatts of the solar project's output. 

First Solar is a vertically-integrated solar company, manufacturing solar photovoltaic panels, developing utility-scale photovoltaic power plants, and providing solar project support services.  First Solar boasts involvement with over 10 gigawatts of installed solar photovoltaic capacity worldwide.  Its resume includes the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar project in California and the 290-megawatt Agua Caliente project, which was once the world's largest operating solar energy project.

First Solar's California Flats Solar Project will occupy a 2,900-acre site on the Jack Ranch in Cholame, California.  Owned by Hearst Corporation, the project site was formerly a dryland farm, and occupies about 3% of the Jack Ranch property.  First Solar expects to begin construction later this year, and to complete the project by the end of 2016.

With a total project capacity of 280 megawatts, Apple's 130-megawatt commitment covers about 46% of the project's output.  The project's remaining 150 megawatts will be sold to utility Pacific Gas & Electric under a separate long-term PPA.

Apple has developed other renewable energy projects, including fuel cells and solar panels at its Maiden, North Carolina data center.  Other high-tech companies have also made significant investments in renewable energy, including Google's commitment of over $1.5 billion to solar and wind projects through power purchase agreements and direct investments.

Topaz Solar becomes largest solar power project

A recent expansion has made a California solar energy project the world’s largest solar facility. Built in three phases, MidAmerican Renewables LLC’s Topaz Solar project in San Luis Obispo County now sports 550 MW total generating capacity.

A small distributed solar photovoltaic installation in Arches National Park, Utah -- much smaller than the Topaz Solar project.

Iowa-based MidAmerican Renewables LLC is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy formed to handle its expansion into the unregulated renewables market.  Its subsidiaries MidAmerican Solar, MidAmerican Wind, MidAmerican Geothermal and MidAmerican Hydro each focus on particular types of renewable energy generating technology.  In all, MidAmerican controls over 3,000 MW of renewable generating capacity in the U.S.

MidAmerican acquired the Topaz Solar project from First Solar in January 2012, after First Solar had acquired previous project developer OptiSolar, Inc.  Project construction began in November 2011, and proceeded in three phases.  Earlier phases came online in February 2013 and in January 2014, for a total of 300 MW of capacity.  With the recent expansion, the 550-megawatt project includes over 8 million photovoltaic modules, installed on 4,700 acres of the Carrizo Plain in the southern California desert.

The power produced by the project is sold to utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company under a 25-year power purchase agreement.  Topaz Solar won the long-term contract rights through its response to a 2007 solicitation by PG&E for renewable power.

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Topaz Solar project is now the world's largest solar energy plant.