Gemini Solar to Build Big in Austin

Gemini Solar Development scored its first deal this week, and it’s for one of the largest solar photovoltaic plants in the country — a 30-megawatt plant in Austin, Texas, that’s expected to go online by the end of 2010. The unanimous approval of the project by the Austin City Council comes just days after a shakeup in the ownership of Gemini Solar, but it could serve as a clear sign that Gemini’s future is a bright one.

Gemini Solar will build the plant for the city-owned Austin Energy, with construction to begin in the first quarter of 2010. The cost of the project was not disclosed, but Austin Energy has agreed to pay $10 million per year for electricity from the plant, adding up to a total of $250 million over the 25-year term of the deal.

The plant will be owned and operated by Gemini Solar, with solar panels spread over 320 acres. The panels will be ground-mounted on single-axis trackers that can rotate to follow the sun throughout the day, maximizing power production, and creating enough electricity each year to power 5,000 homes. The solar panels will come from Suntech Power Holdings which is a part owner of Gemini Solar.

Gemini was set up last October as a joint venture between MMA Renewable Ventures and Suntech, but that’s about to change. MMA Renewable’s parent company, Municipal Mortgage & Equity, made a deal earlier this week to sell substantially all of MMA Renewable’s solar assets to Spain’s Fotowatio for $19.7 million. A spokeswoman for MMA Renewable confirmed with us today that the Gemini Solar stake is part of the sale, which is expected to close by the middle of next month.

It’s becoming a busy year for solar deals. The same day the Fotowatio deal was announced, thin-film leader First Solar said it would buy OptiSolar’s entire solar project pipeline in an all-stock deal valued at $400 million. And earlier this month, solar installer groSolar acquired the residential business of Borrego Solar Systems.