Palm Springs, California -- Jonathan Silver of the DOE just let this information out during a speech at the Cleantech Investment Conference. The official press release was released as he spoke.
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) just announced that the 290-megawatt Agua Caliente solar project has received an offer of a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $967 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.
NRG’s acquisition of the project from First Solar was announced last month and has a 25-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company. When completed, Agua Caliente is expected to be the largest operational PV plant in the world.
The Yuma County, Arizona project, which began in 2010 and is expected to be complete by 2014, is expected to create up to 400 construction jobs. The Agua Caliente Solar project will deploy fault ride-through and dynamic voltage regulation, technologies that are new to solar power plants in the United States.
This news follows on this week's announcement of First Solar gaining regulatory approval for the 230-megawatt AV Solar Ranch One.