Developer Meridian Energy USA (formerly Cleantech America) has completed CalRENEW-1 in Mendota, Calif. The project, which is the first utility-scale photovoltaic solar electricity plant to connect to the California Independent System Operator's transmission grid under the state's renewable portfolio standard program, was dedicated by California Public Utilities Commissioner John Bohn.
CalRENEW-1 will deliver 5 MW of electricity to Pacific Gas & Electric under a long-term power purchase agreement. It generates electricity from more than 50,000 solar modules, which occupy 50 acres of formerly fallow farmland in California's Central Valley. The facility started commercial operations on April 30.
Engineering and installation of the facility was provided by Quanta Renewable Energy Services. Sharp Electronics Corp.'s Solar Energy Solutions Group supplied the thin-film photovoltaic modules, the first major deployment of Sharp's amorphous thin-film product in the U.S., Meridian Energy adds.
SOURCE: Meridian Energy USA
