American Capital Energy Inc. plans to use panels from Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) in a 20-megawatt Nevada project for which American Capital is raising about $100 million in funding, Clean Technology Insight has learned.

The project, to be built next year, marks American Capital Energy’s full-force entry into the utility-scale solar power markets, with the company installing a total of 55 MW next year. It had previously focused on smaller photovoltaics installations for commercial and industrial customers.

The power from the project will be supplied to NV Energy Inc. (NVE) under a power-purchase agreement approved by the Nevada utilities board earlier this month. It will be built next year near Searchlight, Nev., 55 miles south of Las Vegas.

“That’s one of the largest [photovoltaics] projects in North America,” said Tom Hunton, president of American Capital Energy, in an interview with Clean Technology Insight.

The North Chelmsford, Mass., company is in the process of closing on a debt-and-equity package of about $100 million to fund the project, said Hunton. He declined to name the investors.

American Capital Energy’s plans for the project include use of Suntech Power’s panels, inverters from Advanced Energy Industries Inc. (AEIS), and tracking systems from Array Technologies Inc., said Hunton.

“We aren’t commenting on any deals that aren’t finalized and this is in that category,” Suntech spokeswoman Sarahjane Sacchetti said in an email.

Given Suntech’s average pricing of around $2 per watt, the deal could bring Suntech about $40 million. Panels are the most expensive components of an entire solar system.

In October, Suntech announced a new 270-watt panel designed for quick integration with a tracker from Array Technologies and inverters from Advanced Energy and other providers, with the components available at “preferential pricing” if included with purchase of the panel.

The Nevada project is one of three utility-scale installations American Capital is planning next year. It has already signed a 30-MW power-purchase agreement with a utility, said Hunton, who declined to discuss details of the deal.

The developer also was selected to build a 5-MW project next year for Public Service Electric and Gas Co., a New Jersey utility, according to Hunton. PSEG representatives declined to comment on its solar selections or to confirm that it selected American Capital Energy. According to Hunton, PSEG will put the 5-MW project in Hamilton, N.J.

“Our bread and butter has been commercial projects,” said Hunton. To date, American Capital installed about 20 MW through smaller commercial installations, he said.

Once you start building large utility-scale projects, “margins do go down, but the dollar volume goes up and we make it up in volume,” said Hunton of the shift in the company’s business.

Its revenue grew from $1 million in 2006, to $53 million in 2008, and between $125 million and $150 million in fiscal 2009, according to a public relations representative of American Capital Energy.

Next year, the smaller commercial projects will still outnumber those undertaken for utilities, said Hunton, but the utility projects will account for more revenue.

American Capital Energy is profitable and employs 28 people. It has been funded through an original investment by the founders and subsequent revenue.

“The growth has been steep for us and we’ve managed it just fine. It’s getting steeper and we’ll continue to evaluate [outside financing] options,” said Hunton.

(Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight covers news about public and private clean-technology and alternative-energy companies.)

-By Yuliya Chernova, Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight; Yuliya.Chernova@dowjones.com

Media Contacts: Adam Grant
NV Energy
702-402-5222

Tom Anderson
ACE
505-490-9877

Analyst Contact: Britta Carlson
702-402-5624

NV Energy and American Capital Energy agree on power purchase agreement for solar PV from 20 MW DC array in southern Nevada

Las Vegas – NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NVE) and American Capital Energy (ACE) today announced that they have entered into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for the sale of energy produced from a 20-megawatt (MW) DC solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant that will be constructed near Searchlight, Nevada, 55 miles south of Las Vegas.

The project, expected to be completed by mid-2010, will be larger than the 14 MW photovoltaic facility completed in 2007 at Nellis Air Force Base. The Nellis plant, toured by President Obama on a recent visit to Las Vegas, is the largest PV facility currently operating in the United States.

“This is another major step in our commitment to bringing power from renewable resources to the citizens of Nevada,” said Michael Yackira, NV Energy president and CEO. “Our state is blessed with abundant solar, geothermal and wind resources and expanding the use of these resources through power purchases of this kind or direct investment in renewable projects is one of our top priorities.”

Terms of the power purchase agreement, which is subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, were not disclosed.

The agreement will assist NV Energy in meeting Nevada’s portfolio standard, which was recently increased by the state’s legislature. The standard now requires that 25% of energy be generated by renewable resources and energy efficiency and conservation programs by 2025.

The companies said all of the PV output from the plants will go to customers of NV Energy’s southern service territory. Construction of the project is expected to create more than 120 jobs and will further help develop Nevada’s burgeoning renewable energy workforce.

“American Capital Energy is excited about the Searchlight Solar I solar PV project. We are honored to have been selected to work with NV Energy to deliver clean, renewable solar energy to southern Nevada,” said Tom Hunton, CEO of American Capital Energy.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, are doing business as NV Energy. Serving a combined 54,500-square-mile service territory that stretches north to south from Elko to Laughlin, NV Energy provides a wide range of energy services and products to approximately 2.4 million citizens of Nevada as well as approximately 40 million tourists annually.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, with offices across the country, American Capital Energy provides full-service project development and construction services for large-scale solar energy projects. ACE is committed to furthering the utilization of solar power by America’s most forward thinking companies by offering customized solar photovoltaic systems designed for reliable long-term performance.

Customer: Atlantic City Convention Center, PEPCO Energy Services

Type of Customer: The Convention Center serves millions of people annually in its 500,000 square feet of continuous exhibition space.

Project Location: Atlantic City, NJ

System size:2,360 kW DC covering 266,000 square feet; largest in North America

Date commissioned: December 28, 2008

Mounting type: 10 degree Tilted array, mounted on a flat roof, requiring ballast and some penetrations for roof attachment

ACE Role: Turn-Key installation, Engineer, procure all equipment, manage installation

Construction Timeline: 6 weeks

Type of Financing: Power Purchase Agreement

Technology Deployed: Trina Solar Crystaline solar panels, SunLink mounting system, Satcon inverters

Implementation Highlights:
- Shoreline location required a 110 MPH wind design. Engineered partial roof penetrations to provide comfort level in this windy area of the country.
- Complex interior inverter placement. Inverter layout and electrical interconnection were completed with no impact to client operations.
- Compressed permitting approvals required. Working with the State of New Jersey, the permit approvals came in record time for this size project
- A new roof was being installed at the same time ACE installed the solar array. Coordinated concurrent construction was an interesting challenge we overcame while staying in-budget and on-time.

Client quote: “American Capital Energy took care of all the engineering, permitting, and construction details allowing us to focus on running the convention center. We were impressed with how easy American Capital Energy seemed to make this project come together” - Project Manager ACCC

Customer: States Logistics

Type of Customer:Since 1958, States Logistics Services has provided organizations with cost effective and value driven Third Party Logistics and supply chain management solutions.

Project Location: Tolleson, AZ

System size: 282 kW DC

Date commissioned:December, 2008

Mounting type: 25 degree tilted array, on a flat roof, using a standing seam attachment bracket

Customer: River Terminal Development

Type of Customer:River Terminal Development is one of the northeast region’s largest “value-added” developers; River Terminal has spent over 35 years developing more than 9,000,000 square feet of industrial, flex and office properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California.

Project Location: South Kearny, NJ

System size: 600 kW DC

Date commissioned: October, 2006

Mounting type: 5 degree Tilted array, mounted on a flat roof, using a ballasted mounting solution

Customer: Mannington Mills

Type of Customer: Mannington Mills is the only U.S. manufacturer of residential and commercial flooring that offers all kinds of flooring solutions from a single source.

Project Location: Salem, NJ

System size: 603 kW DC using 68,000 square feet of roof space

Date commissioned: December, 2008

Mounting type: 10 degree Tilted array, mounted on a flat roof, using a ballasted mounting solution.

Customer: Heilind Electronics

Type of Customer: Heilind Electronics is an electronics distributor that specializes in electronic hardware and other interconnect components.

Project Location: Visalia, CA

System size: 392 kW DC using 41,000 sf2 of roof space

Date commissioned: August, 2008

Mounting type: 5 degree Tilted array, mounted on a flat roof, using a ballasted mounting solution

Customer: Solaire

Type of Customer: Real Estate Developer

Project Location: Danbury, CT

System size: 420 kW DC using about 56,000 square feet of roof space

Date commissioned: December, 2008

Mounting type: 20 degree tilted array, on a flat roof, requiring penetrations as the attachment method

Customer: ALDI

Type of Customer: ALDI is a supermarket chain that has over 1,000 stores in 29 states that lives by one major core concept, “Incredible Value Every Day”.

Project Location: South Windsor, CT

System size: 570 kW DC using 64,500 square feet of roof space

Date commissioned: December 31, 2008

Mounting type: 10 degree Tilted array, mounted on a flat roof, using a ballasted mounting solution

Customer: Brook Warehousing / MMA Renewable Ventures

Type of Customer: Brook provides companies warehousing and logistics throughout New Jersey with over 500,000 square feet of environmentally friendly space.

Project Location: Bridgewood, NJ

System size: 600 kW DC using 80,000 square feet of roof space

Date commissioned: April, 2008

Mounting type: 10 degree Tilted array, mounted on a flat roof, using a ballasted mounting solution

ACE Role: Visualization and module selection, to total system integration and ongoing system maintenance.

Construction Timeline: 9 months

Type of Financing: Power Purchase Agreement

Technology Deployed: Suntech photovoltaic (PV) system

Implementation Highlights:
- A photovoltaic system was implemented, as it could be installed in an array over the existing rooftop.
- 3,600 Suntech solar panels, which cover 80,000 square feet of roof space and provide more than 720,000 kWh of output.