NRG completes 66 MW Alpine solar PV facility

USA: NRG Energy Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar, announced the start of commercial operations for the Alpine Solar Generating Station, a 66 megawatt (AC) photovoltaic facility, currently the largest fully operational solar plant in California. The station’s electricity will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

“The Alpine Generating Station is the latest example of our success in developing solar projects that create construction jobs and meet the demands of local utilities for cost-competitive renewable sources of electricity,” said Randy Hickok, senior VP of NRG Solar. “Large-scale solar generation like Alpine and other NRG solar sites provide clean energy during the hottest part of the day when it’s needed most, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and the resulting carbon emissions.”

“Pacific Gas and Electric Company remains committed to providing our customers with a comprehensive portfolio of energy resources that incorporates all forms of cost-effective clean energy as California marches forward into a clean energy future,” said Fong Wan, senior VP of Energy Procurement for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. “PG&E delivers some of the cleanest energy in the nation to our customers, more than half of which comes from sources which are carbon-free. The Alpine Solar Generating Station will help PG&E grow its clean energy portfolio and make progress towards California’s 33 percent renewable energy goal.”

Dennis Hunter, deputy director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said Alpine has been an exciting and rewarding project for the Department. “We appreciated the opportunity to work with the NRG team on the first operational utility-scale project in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. This is a new sector of construction permitting for us and the processes we developed with NRG will allow us to facilitate the permitting of similar projects in the future.”

The Alpine array will generate enough energy to meet the annual needs of approximately 53,000 homes at peak daytime capacity. Using clean solar power also avoids the annual emission of approximately 36,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking more than 6,600 cars off the road.

Alpine is the eighth large-scale solar facility in NRG’s ownership portfolio that is currently producing clean solar power for thousands of homes and businesses in three states. The other seven completed or partially completed plants are Agua Caliente (under construction) and Avra Valley in Arizona; Roadrunner in New Mexico; and Avenal, Blythe, Borrego (under construction) and California Valley Solar Ranch (under construction) in California. A ninth power plant that is not yet producing power, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California, will be completed before the end of this year.