Gigawatts in China

I thought this bit of news was very interesting, for what it signals about US firms doing business overseas in green energy:

US energy giant First Solar on Tuesday won a deal to build the world's largest solar power plant in China, aimed at helping mitigate climate change concerns.

First Solar will construct the two-gigawatt plant in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked Tuesday with Chinese officials at the company's headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.

It is good to see that business come to an American company.  The article goes on to discuss what's in it for China, beyond the energy to power 3 million homes:

The MOU outlined a long-term "strategic partnership" between First Solar and Ordos City, where First Solar would also consider a manufacturing investment, officials said.

"We are very pleased to be partnering with one of the solar industry's global technology leaders in a project of such significance to Ordos's low carbon future," said Cao Zhichen, vice mayor of Ordos municipal government.

"Discussions with First Solar about building a factory in China demonstrate to investors in China that they can confidently invest in the most advanced technologies available," Cao said.

It will be interesting to see how this project stimulates economic growth, both here and in China.