Squire Patton Boggs has acted for First Solar, Inc. on the sale of the Cuyama Solar Project in Santa Barbara, California to an affiliate of D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments, LLC (DESRI).

Cuyama Solar Project is the first utility-scale solar installation in Santa Barbara County. Its sustainable electric power will provide affordable and clean energy to about 16,000 California homes. In doing so, it will displace 30,000 metric tons of CO2 greenhouse each year.

The 40 megawatt project is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2017. After an initial one-year power purchase agreement with Community Choice Aggregator Peninsula Clean Energy in 2018, power from the project is expected to be supplied to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) under a 25-year agreement from January 2019.

This is the third renewable energy project that DESRI has acquired by First Solar, following the Portal Ridge Solar Project in Los Angeles County and the Rancho Seco Solar Project in Sacramento County.

The transaction was led by Energy & Natural Resources partner Kevin Levey, with senior associate Purvin Patel and associate Loana Martin. The Squire Patton Boggs team has acted for First Solar over many years, including on numerous project acquisition and sales transactions, engineering, procurement, construction contracts and equipment sales deals.