First PV Solar Panel Installed on Largest Solar Project in the World

Less than two weeks after its official groundbreaking ceremony, MidAmerican Solar and First Solar, Inc. marked another milestone at Topaz Solar Farms, located in San Luis Obispo County, CA,. The first solar panel was installed on what is the largest solar project under construction in the world. When complete, the 550-megawattAC project will include nearly 9 million photovoltaic panels.

To mark this significant event, the first solar panel was installed by Greg Abel, chairman, president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, and Walter Scott, Jr., who serves on the boards of directors for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and MidAmerican.

“The installation of this first solar panel is more than symbolic,” said Paul Caudill, president of MidAmerican Solar. “It represents nearly five months of hard construction work put in by a dedicated crew of craftspersons and on-site supervision, a large majority of whom live in the local area. They are helping us achieve our goal of safely and reliably delivering energy to our customer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, all while adhering to our core value of respect for the environment.”

The Topaz project will create approximately 400 construction jobs during its three-year construction period; will generate nearly $417 million in local economic impact, the majority of which will be generated during construction; and will provide California with renewable electricity. The Topaz project will provide enough energy to power approximately 160,000 average California homes.

“We’re very pleased that Topaz has progressed rapidly to the module installation phase,” said Jim Lamon, First Solar senior vice president of engineering, procurement and construction, and operations and maintenance. “We’re proud to be working with an energy leader like MidAmerican Solar in bringing utility-scale renewable generation to our country’s power grid.”

The Topaz project is owned by MidAmerican Solar and will be constructed, operated and maintained by First Solar. Construction began in late 2011 and is expected to be complete by early 2015. PG&E will purchase the electricity from the Topaz project under a 25-year power purchase agreement, helping California meet its mandate to generate 33% of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

First Solar’s advanced thin-film PV modules generate electricity with no emissions, waste or water use and its systems have the smallest carbon footprint of any PV technology. Each module is approximately 4 feet by 2 feet and weighs 27.5 pounds.

Electricity generated by the Topaz project will displace approximately 377,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year – the equivalent of taking approximately 73,000 cars off the road.


May 21, 2012
www.ascentsolar.com
Ascent Solar, Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Enter Strategic Alliance with Leading China Railway Design Agency

Will integrate Ascent Solar panels with existing and future railway stations

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI), a developer of state-of-the-art, flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, announced it has entered into a three-way strategic joint development agreement with Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Radiant) and Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation (TSDI) of China.

Under the agreement, TSDI will promote the use of leading-edge solar technology in China’s rapidly growing public railway infrastructure by installing Ascent Solar modules on existing and future railway stations in China. Radiant has been responsible for installing the roofing component on multiple railway station projects throughout China and is well positioned to execute the PV retrofitting of existing railway stations, as well new installations. Total volume of solar installation on China’s public infrastructure is projected to reach 800MW over the next five years.

TSDI, a subsidiary of the China Railway Group, is a large-scale comprehensive survey and design corporation that has been appointed to build a uniform technical platform for China’s state-of-the-art national railway system. TSDI consistently ranks among China’s Top 100 firms in terms of overall strength, and owns a Class-A Qualification certificate for Engineering Survey and Design from China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development. The organization has designed over 50,000km of railways in China, including the country’s first high-speed railway and first heavy-haul railway. In addition, TSDI designed China’s first modern, large-scale multi-modal transport hub, the Beijing South Railway Station.

Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Co., Ltd., Ascent’s strategic partner in East Asia and a leader in the metal roofing and façade industry in China, will work closely with Ascent and TSDI to design, engineer and install the solar systems.

“We are honored to be involved with TSDI through this very important partnership, which will promote Ascent Solar’s transformational technology in a high-profile sector of China’s public infrastructure. This year, we look forward to working closely with TSDI and Radiant to design and develop systems to be installed beginning in 2013,” stated Victor Lee, Ascent Solar President and CEO.

Winston Xu, Founder of Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Ascent Solar Board Member, said, “China’s state-of-the-art railway system is one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. Ascent Solar and Radiant Group feel privileged to work with TSDI towards the goal of incorporating green, renewable energy with this important piece of China’s infrastructure.”

According to the terms of the agreement, the three parties will begin system design and engineering development in the near term, with initial project installations beginning in 2013.