First Solar Soaring On DOE Loan Guarantee

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) shares are soaring after the company announced this morning that it had won loan guarantees worth $4.5 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy for three of its biggest power plants in California. The loan guarantees will allow First Solar to sharply lower the cost of building the plants. Once completed, the plants will have a total capacity of about 1,330 megawatts, or 30% more than a nuclear power plant. The DOE said the loan guarantees for First Solar include $680 million for the 230-MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch project, $1.88 billion for the 550-MW Desert Sunlight project, and $1.93 billion for the 550-MW Topaz Solar project.First Solar said it expects to create 1,400 jobs in California during peak construction of the plants.At last check, shares of First Solar were up $8.21 to $137.63, a gain of over 6%.