Is the Game Over for Tessera Solar?

First, the news.  Tessera/Stirling sold its 850 megawatt Calico project to a small developer named K Road Power.  For the full press release, see here.

Just a couple months ago it seemed that things were going well at Tessera Solar / Stirling Energy Systems (SES).  Back in October, Calico was the fifth large-scale solar plant to receive final approval from the BLM in their fast-track process.  A week later, they got the final go-ahead from the California Energy Commission.

But just last week, SCE cancelled the PPA it had for Tessera Solar’s Calico project. Earlier, Stirling’s CEO left, Tessera laid off employees and a judge slapped an injunction on the Imperial Valley project, the otherStirling/Tessera deal in the works.

Oh, and parent company NTR said it wouldn’t continue to invest in the projects.

So, what went wrong?