Sumitomo in largest clean energy investment in USA

Japan’s Sumitomo Group has bought a fourth of the 550 megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, now under construction in the Mojave Desert in southern California.

Desert Sunlight is Sumitomo's first investment in American solar projects, but the group has stakes in a number of North American wind turbine installations, including the 845 megawatt Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Oregon.

"The investment in Desert Sunlight is a good representation of what Sumitomo is doing in regards to supporting a clean energy future," said Teruyuki Miyazaki, Vice President, Power & Telecommunications Business of Sumitomo Corporation of America.

"This, along with our earlier investments in major renewable energy projects in the U.S., allows us to leverage our experience and knowhow as a long-term strategic investor and work with strong partners on high-quality renewable energy projects in the advanced stages of development or construction."

Sumitomo bought a 25% stake in the facility from GE Energy Financial Services. The two corporations, along with co-owner NextEra Energy, will sell power to Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric for two decades after the plant is completed in 2015.

First Solar, Inc. is currently building Desert Sunlight. The project is located on land managed by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), about six miles north of the community of Desert Center.

Desert Sunlight will provide enough energy to serve the needs of about 160,000 average California homes, displacing some 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year—the equivalent of taking about 60,000 cars off the road.

Construction on the project began in September 2011 and the facility is expected to be fully operational by 2015.