By Colin Kellaher 



  First Solar Inc. on Thursday said it signed a 15-year power-purchase agreement to supply renewable energy to Dow Inc. for the materials-science company's Gulf Coast operations. 


  The Tempe, Ariz., maker of photovoltaic solar-power systems said it will supply Dow with renewable energy from 75% of its 200-megawatt Horizon Solar project in Frio County, Texas. 


  First Solar said the portion of the facility covered by the Dow agreement will generate enough electricity to power up to 25,000 average Texas homes, while displacing 147,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to planting 2.4 million trees per year. 


  First Solar said the project will create about 350 jobs at the peak of construction. The company had previously disclosed the execution of the agreement without identifying the customer. 


  Dow's Freeport, Texas, site is the largest integrated chemical manufacturing complex in the Western Hemisphere. 


  Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com