Three Cedars Solar Project is a 210 MWAC (265 MWp) photovoltaic power station consisting of three units extending about 15 miles northwest of Cedar City, Utah. The project was developed by SunEdison, built with its global team of partners, and commissioned in September 2016. The electricity and renewable energy credits are being sold to Rocky Mountain Power under three separate 20-year power purchase agreements.

Project details The project consists of three separate units distributed on private land along the headwaters of Iron Springs Creek at a sunny and cool elevation near 6,000 feet. +Three Cedars Solar Project Unit CapacityMWAC CompleteDate Coordinates Site Area(approx) Iron Springs 80 MW July 2016 600 acres Granite Mountain East 80 MW October 2016 600 acres Granite Mountain West 50.4 MW October 2016 400 acres

Planning was initiated by the independent renewable energy developer First Wind (founded 2002) which began expanding into photovoltaic energy around 2012. First Wind and its extensive portfolio of assets in western Utah were acquired by SunEdison and its TerraForm Power yield co in November 2014. Beginning construction at the time was the 20.2 MW Seven Sisters Project, a dispersed set of ~3 MW facilities throughout Beaver and Iron counties.

To finance the construction of Three Cedars, SunEdison entered into a joint venture with Dominion Resources. The resulting entity, Dominion Renewable Energy, utilized $80 million from SunEdison and $320 million from Dominion to start construction in September 2015. The two companies also previously entered a joint venture to construct the 320 MW Four Brothers Project, which includes the three co-located 80 MW Escalante units in Beaver County and the 80 MW Enterprise unit in Iron County, on about the same timeline.

Construction of Three Cedars progressed simultaneously at all three sites, created an estimated 250 local construction jobs, and was completed by October 2016. Along with the electricity to power more than 36,000 homes, it is expected to produce $17 million in property and income taxes for the region over 20 years. The project is operated and maintained by Swinerton Renewable Energy.

SunEdison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 21, 2016, but was able to complete the project on time with its receipt of $300 million in bankruptcy debt financing. On September 13, 2016, the company was forced to sell its stake in the completed facilities in a fire sale. NRG Energy was the successful bidder.

Electricity production

+Total Facility Generation(Annual Sum from All Units Below) Year Total Annual MW·h 2016 196,000 2017 548,663 2018 543,454 2019 537,739 Average (2017–2019) 543,285

+Generation (MW·h) of Iron Springs Solar - (80 MW unit) Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2016 15,990 22,101 20,386 19,179 15,630 12,391 8,799 114,476 2017 8,564 12,655 18,952 20,815 24,809 27,123 20,208 19,367 17,312 18,209 12,527 11,465 212,005 2018 10,987 12,921 16,708 20,249 23,334 25,076 21,857 21,822 20,974 15,640 12,892 9,334 211,796 2019 10,829 11,411 16,999 20,012 21,305 23,964 22,683 23,091 19,061 18,736 11,645 8,488 208,224Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) : 210,675

+Generation (MW·h) of Granite Mountain Solar East - (80 MW unit) Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2016 12,633 9,216 13,374 12,138 8,436 55,797 2017 8,430 12,457 18,656 20,489 24,421 26,699 19,891 19,064 17,041 17,924 12,331 11,285 208,687 2018 10,795 12,695 16,416 19,895 22,926 24,638 21,475 21,441 20,607 15,366 12,666 9,171 208,091 2019 10,614 11,184 16,660 19,613 20,881 23,487 22,231 22,631 18,681 18,363 11,413 8,319 204,075Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) : 206,951

+Generation (MW·h) of Granite Mountain Solar West - (50.4 MW unit) Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2016 3,176 6,217 3,441 7,452 5,441 25,727 2017 5,169 7,639 11,440 12,564 14,975 16,372 12,198 11,690 10,450 10,991 7,561 6,920 127,971 2018 6,410 7,538 9,748 11,814 13,614 14,630 12,752 12,732 12,237 9,125 7,522 5,446 123,567 2019 6,524 6,874 10,241 12,056 12,835 14,437 13,665 13,911 11,483 11,287 7,015 5,113 125,440Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) : 125,659

See also

Solar power in Utah List of power stations in Utah

References

External links