First Solar signs PPA with Cleantech Solar for India manufacturing facility

First Solar has entered into a 15-year, captive Power Purchase Agreement – PPA – with Cleantech Solar, a provider of renewable energy solutions to corporations in India and Southeast Asia. Under the agreement, Cleantech Solar will construct 150 MW of photovoltaic solar and 16.8 MW of wind-generating assets in Tamil Nadu, India, supplying approximately 7.3 GWh of clean electricity to First Solar’s new 3.3 GW vertically integrated solar manufacturing facility, also located in Tamil Nadu. When fully commissioned by Q3, the solar and wind generation assets are expected to provide up to 70% of the facility’s anticipated electricity needs. They are expected to displace almost 7,000 kilotons of CO2 emissions over the duration of the PPA. Furthermore, Cleantech Solar has agreed to procure 150 MW of advanced, India-made Series 7 thin film solar panels from First Solar. The modules are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2024. First Solar’s Tamil Nadu plant, located in an area of high baseline water stress, is believed to be the world’s first net-zero water withdrawal solar manufacturing facility.