Greentech Lead
America: Duke Energy Renewables has acquired a 10-megawatt (MW)
utility-scale solar project near Kingman, Ariz., from SOLON Corp. Financial
terms of the deal are not disclosed.
The Black Mountain Solar Project under construction in
Mohave County is expected to achieve commercial operation in October of this
year.
Comprised of more than 40,000 solar panels, the Black
Mountain project is expected to produce enough electricity to power about 2,000
homes.
UniSource Energy Services (UES) will purchase the power
generated at the Black Mountain site through a 20-year power purchase
agreement.
“This acquisition expands our footprint in the western
United States and helps a premier Arizona energy service provider deliver
affordable, zero-emission renewable power to its customers,” said Duke
Energy Renewables president Greg Wolf.
SOLON designed the solar array, powered by SOLON’s
single-axis tracking technology, and will construct and continue to handle operations,
monitoring and maintenance of the system after it is commissioned.
“With more than 60 MW of utility-scale photovoltaic
systems installed in Arizona, SOLON is committed to delivering proven solutions
to utilities and creating renewable energy jobs for the economy,” said Dan
Alcombright, president and CEO of SOLON Corporation. “We are proud that this
10-MW project will create more than 250 local jobs during construction.”
Duke Energy Renewables already owns two other solar
facilities in the state: the 4-MW Ajo Solar Farm in Pima County and the 15-MW
Bagdad Solar Farm in Yavapai County.
Black Mountain is Duke Energy Renewables’ 12th wholly owned
commercial solar farm. Since 2007, Duke Energy has invested more than $2.5
billion to grow its commercial wind and solar business lines.
Sumitomo
to buy stake in two Duke Energy Renewables wind farms
Recently Duke Energy said Sumitomo Corp. of America (SCOA),
part of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp., will buy 50 percent stake in two
large-scale wind farms Duke Energy Renewables is building in Kansas. SCOA is
buying the stake in the 131 MW Cimarron II Windpower project in Gray County and
the 168 MW Ironwood Windpower project in Ford County.
editor@greentechlead.com