Thursday, July 7, 2011

Pissin' Off the Neighbors: "Fire at First Solar’s Solar Ranch One" (FSLR)

This isn't the 'dreaded' cadmium fire we talked about in 2008's "First Solar, PrimeStar Solar and Cadmium Risks (FSLR; GE)" but still...
Here's a pull quote:
..."If you drive a vehicle with a hot engine through three-foot-tall, bone-dry grass, you're either ignorant or negligent," Jefferies insisted. “The company claims it wants to be a good neighbor,” Jefferies said, "but good neighbors don't start fires, especially at this time of the year.” ...
Got that? Good neighbors don't set the neighborhood on fire.
From Greentech:

Was it negligence? And will attacks from locals drive First Solar to negotiate before major investors scatter? 
In response to a fire at First Solar's proposed 230-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) Solar Ranch One site, where construction on the world's biggest PV power plant was supposed to begin July 5, the developer is about to see more hostility from the community of Fairmont, its Antelope Valley neighbor.

Fairmont Town Council Secretary David Jefferies, also an attorney, called the July 2 fire "negligence" and possible "reckless disregard" by First Solar (FSLR: NASDAQ). The fire burned over 70 acres before a 90-minute response from County firefighters suppressed it. LA County Fire Department Battalion Chief Clifford Meridth said it was the “accidental” result of a truck driving across the property....MORE