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NEXTracker Supplies 16 MW Commercial Solar Project In Mexico

Fremont, Calif.-based NEXTracker has entered the solar market in Mexico with a shipment of single-axis trackers to Buenavista Renewables (BVR), a Houston-based developer with offices in Mexico City.

BVR is developing its 16 MW Los Santos power plant in the state of Chihuahua. The power plant will deliver electricity to a large cable manufacturer and a private educational network via long-term power supply agreements executed under Mexico’s self-supply law.

Dan Shugar, CEO of NEXTracker, says the Los Santos project demonstrates many of the opportunities in Mexico for solar in general and for trackers in particular.

“What’s really interesting is that we are seeing a prevalence of trackers in those markets where solar has to stand on its own feet with few, if any, incentives,” he says. “Mexico is just a fantastic place for solar and an even better place for trackers.”

From a geographic standpoint, the arid regions of northern and central Mexico - of which Chihuahua may be considered typical - have high solar irradiance and favorable latitudes. Shugar says the incremental cost to a project for adding trackers is approximately 5%. However, the incremental energy production with trackers is 20% to 30%, with the latter figure reflecting some sites in the high deserts of the region.

“Just generally speaking, the sunnier the place, the better the incremental gain for trackers,” he says. “That benefit is compounded when you are in a lower latitude.”

The lower latitude provides better yields during the winter months because the sun remains above the horizon longer than in northern climes. At the same time, Shugar says, the geology of desert regions tends to feature a high abledo, which is the light that reflects off of the ground. The sun angle is low enough that tracking solar panels can capture a significant amount of this light.

“One of the differentiators in a desert environment is that we have a higher rotation angle than other systems - plus or minus 60 degrees rather than the typical plus or minus 45 degrees,” Shugar says. “That significantly better rotation angle gives you better energy production during the valuable shoulders of the day: early morning and late afternoon.”

Despite the geographic benefits, Mexico is still an emerging market for solar - if a particularly promising one - and as such, requires local experience to successfully develop projects. Shugar says BVR has a tremendous amount of international expertise and really understands the market in Mexico and how to structure projects there. “For us, they really were the ideal customer,” he says.

- Michael Puttré

 

SunEdison Adding
262 MW In Utah

SunEdison Inc. has signed agreements to construct and install three utility-scale solar power plants in southern Utah.

With a total capacity of 262 MW DC, the projects, located in Iron County, include the 63 MW Granite Mountain Solar West plant, the 100 MW Granite Mountain Solar East plant and the 99 MW Iron Springs Solar plant.

These projects are on the call right projects list for TerraForm Power Inc. SunEdison anticipates offering these projects to TerraForm Power for investment upon completion. Operations and maintenance will be performed by SunEdison Services.

PacifiCorp will purchase the electricity through three 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs), according to its obligation under the federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act.

The purchase agreements and the price of the electricity will be at the utility’s avoided cost of electricity - which reflects the utility’s costs to purchase or generate the power from other resources. The contract will be approved by the Utah Public Service Commission.

SunEdison expects construction to begin in the fall and commercial operations to begin in 2016.

The company also recently broke ground on the 22.6 MW Seven Sisters solar project, also in Utah. The Seven Sisters are seven separate solar power plants - four of which are located in Beaver County and three are in Iron County. Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, will purchase the electricity under seven separate 20-year PPAs with SunEdison.

The projects were originally developed by First Wind, which SunEdison purchased earlier this year.

 

Developer Plans Hybrid Project For New Mexico

Colorado-based developer Western Energy Partners LLC says it plans to develop, permit, construct and operate a 750 MW electricity generation project involving natural gas-fired and solar photovoltaic components near Waterflow, N.M.

The Clean Path Energy Center LLC project is intended to take over for the announced retirement of coal-fueled power plants located in the region. The new generation project will consist of a 680 MW natural gas combined-cycle power plant co-located with a 70 MW PV facility.

The combined-cycle plant will be capable of providing baseload generation, while the PV power block will be able to provide additional peaking generation capacity during times of higher system loads. Completion of the project is expected in mid-2019.

“The Clean Path Energy Center is ideally positioned to meet the future electrical needs of consumers in a highly economic and sustainable manner for many years to come,” says Curt Hildebrand, president of Western Energy Partners.

 

BNB Fires Up Array For Pepperidge Farm

BNB Renewable Energy Holdings has completed a 1 MW solar project at Campbell Soup Co.’s Pepperidge Farm bakery in Bloomfield, Conn.

The ground-mounted, fixed-tilt array incorporates 2,720 SunPower solar panels and sits on five acres of land leased from Pepperidge Farm. The array is projected to produce more than 1.7 GWh of electricity per year, which is equal to about 15% of the bakery’s annual energy demand.

Pepperidge Farm and BNB partnered on developing the project, which was financed through PNC Energy Capital LLC. SunPower provided engineering, procurement and construction services for the project. SunPower and BNB will provide operations and maintenance services for the life of the system.

A key to the project’s success is a power purchase agreement under which Pepperidge Farm buys electricity at rates that are competitive with retail electricity, providing a hedge against rising electricity rates while supporting renewable energy development. BNB secured an agreement with utility Eversource Energy to purchase the solar credits the array produces under Connecticut’s Zero Emissions Renewable Energy Credit program.

BNB and SunPower previously collaborated with Campbell on a 9.8 MW solar array at Campbell’s production facility in Napoleon, Ohio. Campbell says that by 2020, it wants to reduce energy use per ton of product produced by 35% and source at least 40% of the energy used by the company from renewable or alternative energy sources.

 

Last Modules Installed At Copper Mountain Solar 3

Cupertino Electric Inc. says it has installed the last of more than 1 million photovoltaic modules at Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and Consolidated Edison Development’s 250 MW Copper Mountain Solar 3 project in Boulder City, Nev.

Amec Foster Wheeler is providing engineering and project management services on the fixed-tilt, ground-mount project that broke ground in early 2013.

“Having worked with Sempra U.S. Gas & Power previously on its jointly owned Copper Mountain 2 Solar project as an engineering, procurement and construction subcontractor, we were pleased to continue our successful run on this latest project,” says John Curcio, chief commercial officer for Cupertino Electric.

 

Sun Valley Completes Project For Family Housing

Arizona-based Sun Valley Solar Solutions has completed a 91 kW solar array for Verde Villas, a housing complex for low-income veterans and formerly homeless families in Phoenix.

The project consists of 325 SolarWorld modules split between a rooftop array and custom steel parking structures. The project is expected to produce approximately 155,402 kWh per year, representing nearly 60% of the facility’s overall electricity needs.

The renovation was overseen by the Arizona nonprofit Foundation for Senior Living, which also manages the property on behalf of Catholic Charities Community Services.

“Solar, along with other green initiatives, enables us to dramatically reduce our operating costs - freeing money that goes directly back to support our programs,” says Steve Capobres, vice president of business development at Catholic Charities.

 

GE And Pacifico Partner On Plant In Japan

GE Energy Financial Services and Virginia Solar Group’s subsidiary Pacifico Energy have partnered on a third solar power project in Japan.

The partners will jointly invest equity in a 96.2 MW photovoltaic solar plant. Construction of the plant is under way in Hosoe on Kyushu Island, in the prefecture of Miyazaki.

A loan facility with a 22-year tenor - led by the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. as the sole and exclusive mandated lead arranger - was provided on a nonrecourse project finance basis with a syndicate of 12 Japanese financial institutions.

Pacifico Energy is managing the project, which is being built on land that was originally intended for a golf course. The ground-mounted array will consist of approximately 300,000 Trina Solar PV modules. In addition to capital, GE is supplying the project with 50 1.26 MW Brilliant transformerless solar inverters.

Toyo Engineering Corp. is building the facility. Asahi Dengyo will provide operations and maintenance services. The Hosoe solar facility is expected to begin commercial operations in spring 2018 and will sell its power to Kyushu Electric Power Co. under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

In addition to Hosoe, GE Energy Financial Services has invested in three other solar projects in Japan. Last year, the company invested in Pacifico Energy’s Kumenan and Mimasaka Musashi solar projects. Also, GE has helped finance a large-scale solar project in Setouchi City.

 

Pro-Tech Completes Array On Superfund Site

New Jersey-based Pro-Tech Energy Solutions has completed a 1.7 MW solar installation on the capped Sullivan’s Ledge landfill in New Bedford, Mass.

The Sullivan’s Ledge landfill is a 12-acre, city-owned landfill classified as a remediated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site. Pro-Tech provided engineering, procurement and construction services for the project.

According to project developer BlueWave Capital, the Sullivan’s Ledge array will save the city of New Bedford more than $3 million over a 20-year contract. SunEdison signed onto the project as a financing partner.

At the 2015 PV America East Conference recently held in Boston, Pro-Tech, BlueWave Capital and SunEdison received a 2015 PV Project of Distinction Award for their work on Sullivan’s Ledge.

“This project turns an otherwise unusable piece of ground into a site that will provide clean, renewable energy and significant cost savings to the city of New Bedford,” says Guy Winters, chief operating officer of Pro-Tech.