6.9 cent/kWh PPA

When I saw Palo Alto's new PPA with the Western Antelope Blue Sky Ranch Solar project my first impression was - hwat? 6.9 cent/kWh? How can that be? Turns out this 20 MW project is expected to deliver a jaw-dropping 50,000 MWh per year. This is 2500 kWh/kWp - I'm used to using 900 kWh/kWp for the German residential projects I model. What a difference! The capacity factor of 28.5% is comparable to wind projects. The installed cost of this project is probably in the neighborhood of 2000 to 2500 USD/kWp so an LCOE of under 5 cents/kWh looks completely achievable. That's why these guys can sign a PPA for 6.9 cents/kWh and still be assured of making a 10% IRR. Nice...