Southwestern Public Service Company, a unit of Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL), and SunEdison, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR), announced the start of construction at one of the sites of the five-site solar project coming up in New Mexico.
The ground-breaking event for the 54 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar deployment project was held at the Woolworth Community library in Jal, New Mexico. The solar project to be built at five separate sites in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico, will comprise utility-scale, photovoltaic solar power arrays capable of delivering more than 112 million kilowatt hours of clean solar energy in the first year of operation alone. The project is expected to come on line by the end of 2011.
SunEdison, a leading worldwide solar energy services provider, will build, finance and maintain the five installations, under a 20-year solar power services agreement with Xcel Energy, which will buy the solar energy generated by these plants.
The companies expect the 54 MW plant to generate more than 2 million megawatt hours of clean, renewable energy over twenty years. This will power more than 192,000 average U.S. homes for one year. The plant will not only provide clean renewable energy to the citizens of New Mexico but will also stimulate local economic growth and job creation.
The companies’ five-site deployment in New Mexico overshadows SunEdison’s previously constructed 8.22 MW (DC) solar power systems, activated for Xcel Energy, in Alamosa, Colorado in December 2007. Once constructed, the 54 MW deployment will be the largest in New Mexico.
Xcel Energy has a reputation of meeting customer expectations for innovation, reliability and competitively priced energy. The SunEdison 54 MW project positions Xcel Energy as a leading provider of solar power and a reliable partner in the development of a renewable energy economy in New Mexico.
Xcel Energy expects to meet New Mexico’s renewable portfolio standard through this project. These standards require regulated electric utilities to meet 15% of their electricity needs by 2015, and 20% by 2020, through renewable energy sources, including solar technologies.
SunEdison, a MEMC Electronic Materials subsidiary, is a global provider of solar-energy services. It makes large-scale solar generation a reality for utilities worldwide. The company develops, finances, installs and operates distributed power plants using proven photovoltaic technologies, delivering fully managed, predictably priced solar energy services for its commercial, government and utility customers.
Earlier this month, SunEdison agreed to develop two photovoltaic plants with a combined capacity of 37 megawatts, for a unit of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW”>PNW). The two plants, located at the Hyder and Chino Valley, are expected to come online by year-end 2011 and year-end 2012, respectively.
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