Major PV energy provider, First Solar, has cancelled long-standing plans to build a 2GW PV power plant near Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, according to reports.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had originally approved a pre-feasibility study for the construction of a 30MW first phase back in 2010. The project had originally been announced in September 2009 and later that year an official agreement was signed in the presence of US President, Barack Obama and then Chinese President, Hu Jintao.

However, the project had remained on the drawing board. A Bloomberg reported cited First Solar’s spokesperson, Steve Krum that an agreement on the pricing of the electricity was never reached with authorities.

The company would have also built a manufacturing plant in the region to provide the modules for the power plant and was seen as a key step in breaking into the nascent Chinese market at the time.