Following a competitive solicitation, the Southwest Public Power Agency Inc. (SPPA) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a BrightNight joint venture (JV) for the delivery of 300 MW of solar energy and 600 MWh of battery storage power.
This is the largest renewable power purchase in SPPA’s operational history and will supply 21 of SPPA’s constituent members.
Power will be supplied from BrightNight’s Box Canyon project located in Pinal County, Ariz., held jointly with BrightNight’s JV partner, Cordelio Power.
The project recently completed its final major permitting milestones and is expected to begin operation in 2025.
“SPPA is proud to supply its members with safe, reliable and affordable electricity from an industry-leading renewable power project,” says Dennis Delaney, SPPA’s project manager. “BrightNight was able to understand our long-term goals and propose a solution to meet the needs of our members and their customers, while remaining cost-effective.”
BrightNight specializes in utility-scale dispatchable power and leveraged its in-house optimization technology to assess SPPA’s needs and deliver a value-creating solution that goes beyond the technology configuration in the original RFP. BrightNight developed the Box Canyon project as part of their joint venture with Cordelio Power, which owns and develops renewable power facilities across North America and is wholly owned by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.
“Our partnership with SPPA is emblematic of our customer-centric approach that delivers solutions that go beyond customer expectations,” states BrightNight CEO Martin Hermann. “We’re excited to deliver reliable, dispatchable, renewable power to SPPA and applaud SPPA for their leadership in providing cost-effective, long-term, clean power to its members and their customers.” The Box Canyon project is expected to provide approximately one-third of SPPA’s peak capacity needs and 19-21% of SPPA’s energy needs.
