Despite the debacle with a $535 million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt Solyndra, the US Department of Energy is pressing ahead with loan guarantees to solar projects ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. Two guarantees were announced yesterday and six more remain in the hopper. Some Republican congressmen have accused the Obama administration of rushing the loan guarantees to beat the looming deadline.

The loans approved yesterday include a $737 million guarantee to privately held SolarReserve LLC, a joint venture between United Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UTX) and private  equity firm US Renewables Group. The second approval, for $337 million, was awarded to Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), which plans to use solar panels manufactured in Arizona by China’s Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP).

To date the US DoE has invested some $40 billion in 40 clean energy projects, including solar PV and solar thermal, geothermal, wind, and a new nuclear power plant. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) lost a $1.9 billion federal guarantee for its Topaz project when it apparently let its application lapse as it negotiates a deal for private capital.

SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes project is a 110-megawatt concentrating solar power tower that will use molten salt as its heat transfer and storage medium. The molten salt allows the plant to store heat generated by the sun during the day and then use the heat at night to generate steam  to produce electricity. The project is expected to employ 600 people during construction and 45 people in permanent positions once the plant is operational. The project is located near Tonopah, Nevada. SolarReserve has a power purchase agreement with NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NVE).

Sempra’s Mesquite Solar project is a 150-megawatt solar PV farm located near Phoenix, Arizona. It is expected to provide about 300 construction jobs and will purchase at least a portion of the required panels from the recently opened Suntech manufacturing plant. Sempra has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Of the projects awaiting decisions from the DoE, SolarCity’s $344 million project to install rooftop solar panels on military base housing will not meet tomorrow’s deadline. Two more projects from First Solar remain in the running. Both the 230-megawatt Antelope Valley project, with a conditional guarantee of $680 million, and the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight project, with a partial guarantee of $1.88 billion, are still in the running. Sunpower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) is seeking a guarantee of nearly $1.2 billion for its 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch project.

Perhaps the most interesting project remaining in play is Project Amp, a $2.6 billion project to finance solar installations on US commercial and industrial rooftops. The project is owned by ProLogis (NYSE: PLD), and is seeking a guarantee of up to 80% on $1.4 billion in debt financing that is being underwritten by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC).

It’s also worth noting that tomorrow’s deadline for federal action applies only to so-called Section 1705 projects. Newer technologies like concentrating solar PV fall under Section 1703 of the law and will still be eligible for consideration.

The barometer for solar is often in the Guggenheim Solar (NYSE: TAN) ETF and it is more of an agnostic solar player that wins only if the whole sector (or its largest components) have share gains.  Its shares are up 0.6% at $3.45 today, but shares also hit a new 52-week low of $3.40 and are down from over $9.00.  This has been brutal so far, and things aren’t getting better for the solar makers.

Paul Ausick

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