EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) of San Diego, CA, USA (a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewable energy arm of EDF group) says that in late June it acquired the 179MWAC Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 Solar Projects from First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, which makes thin-film photovoltaic modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) as well as providing engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) services. Currently under construction, the projects will sell their combined output and environmental attributes under three power purchase agreements (PPAs) to subsidiaries of NV Energy Inc. Commercial operation dates (COD) for the two projects were scheduled for late July and late September, respectively.
Located in Clark County, Nevada on land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone (SEZ), the projects consist of First Solar modules on horizontal single-axis trackers. The expected electricity generated at full capacity is enough to meet the consumption of about 46,000 Nevada homes (equivalent to avoiding more than 265,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually according to US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculations, which represents the greenhouse-gas emissions from 52,000 passenger vehicles driven over the course of one year).
“The acquisition of Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 marks EDF RE’s entry into Nevada, a state with world-class solar resources where we plan to build additional projects in the coming years,” says Ryan Pfaff, executive VP of EDF Renewable Energy.
EDF RE is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America, with 9GW of wind, solar, biomass, and biogas projects developed throughout the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
