News of utility-scale SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE:SUNE) solar projects have been commonplace this year. The latest announcement from the company further cements its standing as the world’s largest renewable energy developer.
Late last week SunEdison signed agreements to construct three new utility-scale solar power plants in southern Utah with a total capacity of 262 megawatts. The portfolio consists of the Granite Mountain Solar West plant, the 100 megawatt Granite Mountain Solar East facility and the 99 megawatt Iron Springs Solar power station.
This will add to SunEdison’s other solar projects in Utah including the recently commenced 22.6 megawatt Seven Sisters project, the 420 megawatt Four Brothers installation, and 22 megawatts of smaller PV projects.
Electricity generated by the clean power stations will be purchased by PacifiCorp under a 20 year power purchase agreement. Construction of the facilities is expected to begin in the in the third quarter of this year with commercial operations expected next year. Ongoing operation and maintenance will be provided by SunEdison Services.
“This is a great day for Utah,” said Paul Gaynor, Executive Vice President North America Utility and Global Wind at SunEdison. “These solar power plants will create jobs and provide valuable tax revenue to the people of Utah – they are a testament to the contribution solar can make to our energy future.”
SunEdison says it anticipates offering the projects to its yieldco, TerraForm Power (NASDAQ: TERP), for investment upon completion.
In other SunEdison related news, Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX) announced last week it had been selected once again to manufacture SunEdison solar modules. This builds on an existing strong partnership of approximately five years.
“We are proud to apply our innovative supply chain services to help SunEdison achieve their goal of providing clean and smart energy solutions”, said Scott Graybeal, Flextronics senior vice president of Energy. “This latest business award will increase our manufacturing capacity to more than 1.7 gigawatts, underscoring our leadership position as the largest supply chain solutions provider for solar modules.”
Solar panels produced at the plant will be primarily used in the USA for residential, utility and commercial photovoltaic installations.
