D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) has completed acquisition of the 100MW North Star Solar Project (North Star) from Community Energy, and has started construction on it. The North Star project will be the largest solar power project in the Midwest US.
North Star is located on private agricultural land and is scheduled to be completed in late 2016. The construction is conducted by Swinerton Renewable Energy. The project will use over 400,000 PV modules racking on single-axis solar tracking systems. In addition, DESRI has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement with Minnesota-based Xcel Energy.
“This large scale solar project is part of our plan to double the amount of renewable energy we deliver to customers and achieve a 63% carbon free energy by 2030,” noted Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy Minnesota. Power generation from the project will be enough for approximately 20,000 local homes in its first year.