Sun continues to shine on First Solar

US-based First Solar has underscored its position as the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic solar cells with the signing of a major deal to build two solar farms in Southern California for utility Southern California Edison.

The companies said the new installations will have a total generation capacity of 550MW – enough to provide power to about 170,000 homes.

Construction will begin on the 250MW Desert Sunlight project in 2012 and on the 300MW Stateline project in 2013. Both projects are expected to create several hundred construction jobs and be completed in 2015.

John Carrington, First Solar executive vice president for marketing and business development, said the new supply deals, which are subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, would help California reach its renewable energy goals.

California's goal is to deliver 20 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and it is considering legislation to increase the goal to 33 per cent by 2020.

The deals are a further coup for First Solar, which recently defied the solar industries' run of poor financial results by posting second-quarter profits that more than doubled year on year to more than $180m (£109m).

In related news, China-based Trina Solar this week provided further evidence for those predicting that the global solar market is beginning to recover after a tough 12 months, announcing that net profits for the quarter to the end of June exceeded expectations, rising 11 per cent year on year to $18.9m.

The firm shipped 63.9MW of solar modules in the second quarter, an increase of more than 30 per cent over the previous quarter, and up 34 per cent on the same period in 2008.

Jifan Gao, chief executive at Trina Solar, said the company now plans to expand its production capacity to 400MW this year, up from 250MW in 2008.

"We see market confidence returning to the PV sector due to the strong government commitment to support clean energy technologies and an improvement in financing conditions," he said.