Power company Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) and solar company SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB) Tuesday announced an agreement to build a 17-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Colorado’s Alamosa County.
Construction of the power plant is expected to create approximately 200 solar jobs and is scheduled for completion in 2010.
"Today, high-efficiency solar PV technology is competitively-priced for power plant applications. It’s fast to install, and reliably delivers clean power, particularly during peak demand hours," said SunPower CEO Tom Werner. "We congratulate Xcel Energy for providing leadership in the promotion of solar power development, and for demonstrating how renewable technologies are part of the solution to ensure the health of our economy and our environment."
SunPower is one of the many green stocks covered in Progressive Investor. Click here to learn more.
Xcel Energy is ranked as the fifth-largest utility provider of solar power in the nation. In Colorado, the company has acquired more than 25 MW of on-site solar generation from homes and businesses participating in Xcel’s Solar*Rewards rebate program.
In addition, the company buys power from an 8.2-MW solar farm adjacent to where the new facility will be built. The company also is the nation’s number one utility provider for wind power, and is working to meet various renewable energy standards in many of the eight states in which it serves.
By the end of 2010, the largest high-efficiency solar PV plant in North America will be the 25-MW (AC) Florida Power & Light (FPL) plant that SunPower is currently building and expects to complete by the end of this year; Alamosa will be the second-largest facility, SunPower said.
The FPL plant is almost twice the size of North America’s largest operating solar PV plant, the 12-megawatt (AC) (14-megawatt (DC)) array at Nellis Air Force base in Nevada, also built by SunPower. SunPower has a contract to build a 210-megawatt (AC) (250-megawatt (DC)) solar power plant for Pacific Gas & Electric Company in California, which is expected to be complete in 2012.
Construction of the new Alamosa project is contingent on factors including approval by the Colorado Public Utility Commission and project financing.
In February, SunPower, which makes its own solar cells and modules, announced an agreement to build its first solar installation in Italy.
Loading...