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According to the
Associated Press, First Solar Inc.
has received initial approval from the Chinese
government to build what may become the largest solar field in the
world. First Solar, which makes more solar cells than any other company, said it struck a
tentative 10-year deal to build in China''s vast
desert north of the Great Wall. The project would
eventually blanket 25 square miles of Inner Mongolia
— slightly larger than the size of Manhattan — with a sea of black,
light-absorbing glass. The solar field would dwarf anything in operation in the
U.S. or Europe. At 2 gigawatts, or 2 billion watts, the solar plant could pump
as much energy onto China''s grid as two coal-fired plants, enough to light up
three million homes. Like most solar plants, however, it wouldn''t produce
electricity at night. China has designated a region within the country for renewable energy production and transmission. It also
has promised to guide First Solar through the approval process and make it
profitable. Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar announced the deal after signing a
"memorandum of understanding" with Wu Bangguo,
chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese
National People''s Congress. The agreement outlines broad aspects of the
project, including deadlines for a feasibility study
and the government''s role in helping with construction permits. A system like
this would cost $5 billion to $6 billion if it were built in the U.S., though
it likely would be cheaper using lower-cost Chinese labor. First Solar plans to
make money by selling the plant to a local operator, but it won''t be able to
estimate its profit until China determines the size of its subsidy for solar energy. The country is expected to offer a
"feed-in tariff," which would require utilities to buy solar energy
at a fixed price for a set number of years. For several years, solar panels have been rapidly spreading around the
world as an alternative power source, appearing on rooftops of homes and
businesses in most major countries. The solar industry has focused on a handful
of European countries that offer the best incentives, but companies are
starting to look elsewhere for longer-term projects that can keep their
factories occupied for several years. Like the U.S., China has taken aggressive
steps to move away from fossil fuels. It located the First
Solar plant in Ordos, a gritty industrial city of 1.4 million people
that is the main production base for China''s largest coal company. The project
hasn''t been given an exact location yet, but the agreement said it will be
located within a massive development zone that is expected to eventually offer
nearly 12 gigawatts of renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power. First Solar will provide most of
the solar, with the first 30 megawatts installed by June 1, 2010. The company
will expand the plant over the next decade, installing about 27 million
thin-film panels by 2019.
