Southern Company (NYSE: SO) and Ted Turner announced the beginning of commercial operations for their first jointly-owned solar power plant, located in New Mexico.
The joint owners purchased the 30-megawatts (MW) Cimarron Solar Facility in March 2010 from First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), which developed and built the project.
Electricity from the power plant will supply the member electric cooperatives of Denver-based Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
"This is a key milestone for Southern Company as we steadily incorporate more renewables into our energy portfolio," said Tom Fanning, Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Company, which has been criticized over the years for its slow adoption of renewable power an heavy reliance on dirty coal-fired power plants.
The 364-acre plant site is located within the service territory of Tri-State member system Springer Electric Cooperative in Colfax County, N.M., and is adjacent to Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch.
Turner Renewable Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Turner Enterprises with a focus on development of commercial-scale solar projects. Turner Enterprises, Inc. (TEI) manages the business interests, land
holdings and investments of Ted Turner, including the oversight of 2
million acres in 12 states and in Argentina, and more than 50,000 bison
head.
"Large-scale solar generation is among the fastest growing energy sources in the world, and we’re pleased that we can be a part of that growth," said legendary entrepreneur Turner.
Loading...