Enterprise Solar Farm

Solar power station in Utah, USA
37°38′28″N 113°36′45″W / 37.64111°N 113.61250°W / 37.64111; -113.61250StatusOperationalConstruction beganJuly 2015Commission dateAugust 2016Construction cost~$163 millionOwner(s)Dominion Renewable EnergyOperator(s)Swinerton Renewable EnergySolar farm TypeFlat-panel PV
single-axis trackingSite area650 acres (2.63 km2)Power generationNameplate capacity105 MWp, 80 MWACCapacity factor31.9% (average 2017-2019)Annual net output223 GW·h, 343 MW·h/acre
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The Enterprise Solar Farm is an 80 MWAC (105 MWp) photovoltaic power station located about 25 miles west of Cedar City, Utah in Iron County. The project was developed by SunEdison, built by Mortenson Construction, and commissioned in September 2016.[1] The electricity is being sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement to Rocky Mountain Power which serves customers in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.[2][3][4]

Project details

Planning was initiated by the independent renewable energy developer First Wind (founded 2002) which began expanding into photovoltaic energy around 2012.[5] The Enterprise Solar Farm comprises a minority of the 320MW Four Brothers Project, which also includes the three co-located 80 MW Escalante Solar Project units located about 5 miles north of Milford, Utah in Beaver County. The land area for each 80 MW unit ranges from 600 to 700 acres.[2]

First Wind and its extensive portfolio of assets in western Utah were acquired by SunEdison and its TerraForm Power yield co in November 2014.[6] Beginning construction at the time was the 20.2 MW Seven Sisters Project, a dispersed set of ~3 MW facilities throughout Beaver and Iron counties.[7][8] To finance construction of Four Brothers, SunEdison entered into a joint venture with Dominion Resources. The resulting entity, Dominion Renewable Energy, utilized $150 million from SunEdison and $500 million from Dominion to start construction in July 2015.[9] Likewise, the two companies extended their joint venture to construct the 210 MW Three Cedars Project, which consists of three similarly sized facilities dispersed to the west of Cedar City, on about the same timeline.[10]

Four Brothers was built by Mortenson Construction.[11] SunEdison provided about 1.3 million crystalline silicon solar panels from its team of international suppliers. Work progressed simultaneously at all four sites, employed an estimated 500 workers, and was completed in September 2016.[1] Along with the electricity to power about 90,000 homes, Four Brothers is expected to produce $66 million in property and income taxes for the region over 20 years.[9] The completed facilities are operated and maintained by Swinerton Renewable Energy.[12]

SunEdison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 21, 2016, but was able to complete the project on time with its receipt of $300 million in bankruptcy debt financing.[13] On September 13, 2016 the company was forced to sell its stake in the completed facilities in a fire sale. NRG Energy was the successful bidder.[14]

Electricity production

Generation (MW·h) of Enterprise Solar [15]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2016 19,444 22,355 25,675 21,539 21,333 16,319 13,314 10,288 140,267
2017 9,059 13,387 20,048 22,019 26,244 28,692 21,376 20,487 18,313 19,262 13,251 12,128 224,267
2018 11,689 13,747 17,776 21,543 24,826 26,680 23,255 23,218 22,315 16,640 13,716 9,931 225,336
2019 11,444 12,059 17,964 21,148 22,515 25,325 23,971 24,402 20,143 19,800 12,306 8,970 220,046
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) ---> 223,216

See also

  • flagUtah portal
  • iconRenewable energy portal

References

  1. ^ a b "530 MW-AC of solar projects come online in Utah". pv-magazine-usa.com. November 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "PacifiCorp approved for 320MW of new solar in Utah". generationhub.com. October 10, 2014. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Utah Solar Projects". Dominion Energy. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  4. ^ "EIA Electricity Data Browser - Utah". eia.gov. US Energy Information Administration. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "First Wind, Rocky Mountain Power Agree PPA for 'Four Brothers' Solar Development". solarbuildermag.com. June 19, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "SunEdison, TerraForm Buy First Wind for $2.4B to Become Renewable Project Giant". greentechmedia.com. November 17, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "SunEdison Breaks Ground On 22.6 MW Seven Sisters Solar Power Plants In Utah". April 8, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  8. ^ "Seven Sisters Projects Come to Stellar Completion". November 13, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "SunEdison Partners with Dominion for 420-MW "Four Brothers" PV Project in Utah". energytrend.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  10. ^ "SunEdison, Dominion Partner on 265 Megawatt Three Cedars Solar Project in Utah". utahpulse.com. September 9, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "Four Brothers Solar Project". mortenson.com. Mortenson. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  12. ^ "Swinerton Renewable Energy - Projects". Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Bomey, Nathan (April 21, 2016). "SunEdison files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "NRG snatches up 2.1 GW of SunEdison projects". pv-magazine-usa.com. September 13, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "Enterprise Solar, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
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