Sempra Buying Suntech (PV) Panels for 150-Megawatt Solar Project (AZ)

[jpak]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-03/sempra-buying-suntech-panels-for-150-megawatt-solar-project-in-arizona.html

Sempra Generation, the project development unit of Sempra Energy, will use solar panels from Suntech Power Holdings Co. for a 150-megawatt plant in Arizona.

Suntech will supply 800,000 multicrystalline silicon panels for the Mesquite Solar 1 project, the Wuxi, China-based company said in a statement today.

Sempra has used thin-film panels from First Solar Inc. for two large-scale projects in Nevada. Thin-film products generally cost less and are less efficient than photovoltaic.

Mesquite is “a big project for Sempra to try with a new technology provider,” Andrew Beebe, Suntech’s chief commercial officer, said in an interview today. “This shows that crystalline photovoltaics will be an extremely competitive option for large-scale solar.”

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[JDPriestly]

1. Good news.