Utah-based renewable energy company sPower has acquired a 62.1-megawatt wind power project at Monticello. It is the first wind project to be acquired by the company and adds to its portfolio in its home state.
At peak output, the Monticello project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 103,800 metric tons annually. It is the equivalent of removing about 22,000 cars from the road each year or cutting greenhouse gas emissions from 241,000 barrels of oil consumed.
Construction of the project is to begin by September and is expected to be commissioned toward the end of this year.
PacifiCorp, which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with sPower.
As an independent power producer, sPower owns and/or operates more than 150 utility and commercial distributed electrical generation systems across the US and UK.
It has more than 1.7 gigawatts of installed or under-construction capacity. The company is also actively buying renewable assets in North America and the UK.
Fir Tree Partners, an investment fund that manages about $13 billion of capital, owns sPower.
Earlier this month, sPower secured 20-year PPAs for three new solar photovoltaic projects in California.
The three facilities — Aspiration Solar G (11.7MWdc, San Joaquin); Central Antelope Dry Ranch (3.7MWdc in Lancaster); and Lancaster WAD —will be completed in 2016.
At peak capacity the three facilities can cumulatively generate adequate clean energy to power more than 2,500 homes and reduce carbon emissions by 28,000 metric tons annually.
Ajith Kumar S