Beltsville, Md.-based SunEdison has broken ground for the Alamosa Photovoltaic Solar Plant, an 8.22 MW facility that covers roughly 80 acres of land in Alamosa and San Luis Valley, Colo. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Gov. Bill Ritter, D-Colo., Senator Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and representatives from SunEdison and Xcel Energy.
Through a power purchase agreement, Xcel Energy will purchase solar power generated by the Alamosa plant from SunEdison to help meet the utility's 20% by 2020 mandate. When complete – which is expected to be in early 2008 – the facility will generate 17,000 MWh per year, delivering enough clean energy to power 1,500 homes, the companies say.
