Soitec, a supplier of advanced solutions for the electronics and energy industries, has received an order for its Concentrix concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology from Tenaska Solar Ventures to produce 150MW of clean energy for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) in the US.
The new Imperial Solar Energy Center (ISEC) West solar power plant will be constructed on a 1,057-acre site in Southern California’s western Imperial County, and is expected to be complete in 2015.
Soitec will build a new manufacturing factory, with an annual production capacity of 200MW, in the San Diego region to support the new CPV plant.
SDG&E signed a 25-year power-purchase agreement with a subsidiary of CSOLAR Development, a renewable energy company managed by Tenaska Solar Ventures that will develop and operate the ISEC West solar power plant.
The ISEC West project has applied for a US Department of Energy loan guarantee.
Upon receipt of the guarantee and closing of its agreement with Tenaska, Soitec will implement capacity investments to construct its San Diego area factory and pursue options for related financing, the company said.
Soitec will begin the delivery of the CPV systems to the ISEC West solar power plant in early 2013 and complete in 2015.
The ISEC West project will produce enough electricity to meet the annual electricity needs of approximately 55,000 homes in California.