First Solar buys NextLight Renewable Power

First Solar said Wednesday that it is acquiring NextLight Renewable Power, which develops solar projects in the Southwest portion of the U.S., for $285 million.

The deal demonstrates ongoing consolidation in the solar industry.

With the deal, First Solar acquires a pipeline of utility scale solar projects: specifically, 570MW power purchase agreements with utilities in the west.

Those agreements bump First Solar's photovoltaic pipeline to 2,200 MW.

In addition, there are 530MW of additional solar projects in development, mostly located on private land.

For First Solar, the NextLight deal diversifies its project base. First Solar has been looking to expand in the U.S. and has acquired Turner Renewable Energy, projects from OptiSolar and Edison Mission Group.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com