First Solar said that Boston-based Swift Current Energy placed an order for 1.2 GWDC of First Solar’s thin film photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. The modules will be delivered in 2023 and 2024. Terms were not disclosed.
The order is the largest to date for Swift Current, which was founded in 2016 and has a pipeline of more than 6 GW of planned renewable assets across North America.
In December 2021, Swift Current agreed to buy 41 N149/4.X wind turbines from Nordex Group for Swift Current’s 196 MW Castle Gap Wind Project in Texas. The deal included a service contract covering five years of operations and maintenance.
The Castle Gap Project is expected to enter service by the end of 2022 and is Swift Current’s second large-scale wind development in Texas. In 2019, the company developed and commercialized the 550 MW High Lonesome Wind Project in Crockett and Upton counties.
In April 2021, Buckeye Partners and Nala Renewables acquired majority ownership in Swift Current Energy. The deal was intended to enable Swift Current to accelerate its growth plans and allow Buckeye and Nala Renewables to invest in a renewable energy platform. Swift Current’s management retained a minority ownership through its holding company, Lookout Ridge Energy Partners, and remained in place as the company’s management.
First Solar is investing $680 million to expand its domestic PV solar manufacturing capacity by 3.3 GW annually. Work is under way on its third U.S. manufacturing facility, in Lake Township, Ohio, near Toledo. The new facility is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2023 and, when fully operational, will scale the company’s Northwest Ohio footprint to a total annual capacity of 6 GW.
In addition to its Ohio manufacturing facilities, First Solar operates factories in Vietnam and Malaysia. It is also building a 3.3 GW factory in India that is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2023. With First Solar’s expansion in the U.S. and India and optimization of its existing fleet, the company anticipates that its nameplate manufacturing capacity will double to 16 GW by 2024.
Swift Current Energy acquires, develops, constructs, owns and operates utility-scale wind, solar energy and battery storage projects across the U.S. Backed by Buckeye Partners L.P. and Nala Renewables, Swift Current has commercialized 1.1 GW of renewable energy projects. Swift Current Energy is headquartered in Boston, Mass., and has offices in Illinois, Maine, Montana and Texas, U.S.