dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com
April 29, 2010
FirstSolar, the largest solar company in the world, announced Wednesday that it will acquire its chief rival, NextLight Renewable Power, a developer of solar power projects, for about $285 million. The deal will add 1.1GWs worth of solar panel arrays to the larger company's 1.4GW pipeline, VentureBeat reported.
But for FirstSolar, the move isn't about capacity - it's about relationships. Between its Agua Caliente and AV Solar Ranch developments, NextLight has power purchase agreements for more than 520MWs with Pacific Gas and Electric, one of the largest and most strategically positioned utilities in the U.S. (Northern California has become a bit of a laboratory for progressive energy policies).
FirstSolar is hoping to become a formidable force in California, which last year mandated that a third of its power be generated from renewable sources of energy by 2020. It already has connections with Southern California Edison, but lacked a strong bond with PGE - until now. NextLight, based in San Francisco, could give the company a serious boost.
The deal also marks the continuation of FirstSolar's acquisition strategy. Not content to develop projects as fast as it can on its own, the company has been gobbling up other companies just to add MWs to its portfolio. In the last year, it absorbed both Optisolar and Edison Mission Group to do just that.
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