Ausra is continuing its exit from the business of building solar-power plants, announcing on Wednesday that it has sold a planned California solar farm to First Solar.
The Carrizo Energy Solar Farm was one of the three large solar-power plants planned within a few miles of each other in San Luis Obispo County on California’s central coast.
Together they would supply nearly 1,000 megawatts of electricity to the utility Pacific Gas and Electric.
First Solar will not build the Carrizo project, and the deal has resulted in the cancellation of Ausra’s contract to provide 177 megawatts to P.G.& E. — a setback in the utility’s efforts to meet state-mandated renewable-energy targets.
But it could speed up approval of the two other solar projects, which have been bogged down in disputes over their impact on wildlife, and face resistance from residents concerned about the concentration of so many big solar farms in a rural region.
First Solar is only buying an option on the land where the Ausra project was to be built, according to Alan Bernheimer, a First Solar spokesman. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
The deal will let First Solar revamp its own solar farm, a nearby 550-megawatt project called Topaz that will feature thousands of photovoltaic panels arrayed on miles of ranch land.
“This will allow us to reconfigure Topaz in a way that lessens its impact and creates wildlife corridors,” said Mr. Bernheimer.
The third solar project, a 250-megawatt photovoltaic farm, is being developed by SunPower.
The deal with First Solar allows Ausra to stop spending millions of dollars on the Carrizo project and focus on selling solar-thermal technology to other developers. But the continuing shakeup and consolidation of the solar industry has complicated the moves of utilities to secure renewable energy supplies.
The Topaz solar farm, for instance, was originally planned by a now-defunct startup called OptiSolar, which sold its project portfolio to First Solar earlier this year. And the recent acquisition of the solar developer Solel by Siemens has put Solel’s 553-megawatt contract with P.G.& E. in doubt.
“With regard to Solel, there’s nothing I can tell you at this time while the matter is under discussion between the parties,” Jonathan Marshall, a P.G.& E. spokesman, wrote in an e-mail message.
“Given that we have several dozen renewable-energy agreements, some projects will almost inevitably face delays or cancellation due to permitting, financial, technological and transmission capacity issues. That’s why we aim to reduce our market risk by contracting with a wide range of developers.”
