Willbros Group Inc. says that a unit of its utility transmission and distribution segment, Hawkeye LLC, based in Hauppauge, N.Y., has been awarded a contract by BP Solar International Inc. to construct a 37 MW direct-current solar photovoltaic project. The project will be located in the town of Brookhaven, on Long Island, N.Y., and commenced construction Nov. 2.
The project, which is expected to be completed during the second half of 2011, will be located on approximately 200 acres of the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory property. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) selected BP Solar to develop the project, and nearly all of the output will be sold to LIPA and its customers under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The electricity generated by the solar facility will be increased via the use of a 13.8 kV to 69 kV transformer and will be transmitted via an underground line to a nearby LIPA substation prior to entering the LIPA grid.
SOURCE: Willbros Group