That was to be read to the tune of “Speed Racer.”  If this makes no sense….check out the video below.

Consolidation is happening fast – and those with cash…. win.

Following their big announcement last week of breaking the $1/watt barrier, this morning First Solar announced that it has bought up OptiSolar’s deal pipeline for a cool $400M.  While this is truly huge news, that OptiSolar was going to sell its projects should not come as too big a shocker given OptiSolar’s slashed its headcount by 50% and decided not move ahead with it’s central valley production facility.

The real surprise for some was who the buyer was. On conditions of anonymity I talked to another potential buyer that was flabbergasted about the news, particularly because they went into the weekend thinking the announcement was going to have their name on it, not FirstSolar’s.

In addition to the development team responsible for assembling and executing on OptiSolar’s project pipeline the acquisition includes:

* A 550 megawatt (MW) AC solar development project under a power purchase agreement with PG&E
* A project pipeline of additional 1,300MW AC which are in negotiation with Western region utilities for solar development projects
* Strategic land rights of approximately 136,000 acres (approximately 210 square miles) with the potential to deploy up to 19 gigawatts (GW) AC of utility-scale solar power projects

You can check out the press release on FirstSolar’s site.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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• First Solar Announces Major Solar Project for Mojave Desert