Southern Power has signed an agreement to acquire the company’s second solar photovoltaic (PV) installation in California, the 20-megawatt (MW) Adobe Solar Facility – in partnership with Turner Renewable Energy.
The Adobe Solar Facility will be located on a 160-acre site in Kern County, Calif.
This is the sixth solar project acquisition from the partnership between Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. It is expected to close upon the successful completion of construction, which is anticipated in spring 2014.
For this project, Southern Power has partnered with SunEdison, a leading global solar technology manufacturer and provider of solar technology and solar energy services. The project will be operated and maintained by SunEdison. Construction of the project began this fall.
The Adobe Solar Facility is the latest in the company’s ongoing commitments to develop the full portfolio of energy resources – an effort that has amounted to more than 1,700 megawatts of additional renewable energy resources since January 2012, said Southern Company chairman, president and CEO Thomas A. Fanning.
Ted Turner, owner of Turner Renewable Energy, teamed with Southern Company through a subsidiary in January 2010 to form a strategic alliance to pursue development of renewable energy projects in the United States. The partnership has primarily focused on developing and investing in solar PV projects where solar resources are most favorable.
Electricity generated by the plant will serve a 20-year power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International. Headquartered in Rosemead, Calif., Edison International, through its subsidiaries, is a generator and distributor of electric power and an investor in infrastructure and energy assets, including renewable energy.
The acquisition fits Southern Power’s business strategy of growing the wholesale business in targeted markets through acquiring generating assets and building new units, the output of which is significantly covered by long-term contracts, the company said.