PsomasFMG LLC and NRG Solar LLC, a division of NRG Energy, Inc. plan to develop jointly an initial portfolio of solar projects totaling over 11 megawatts (MW). The two largest projects are a 7.3 MW project for the William S. Hart School District in Santa Clarita, Calif., and a 3.3 MW project with the County of Orange, Calif. All of the projects include signed power purchase agreements with the facility owners to buy the solar-generated electricity.
"PsomasFMG's rapid and remarkable growth is a result of combining our technical know-how with our financial expertise, and we are delivering results to our clients in the form of green energy that lowers their power bills, all with no money down," said Lou Kwiker, Chief Executive Officer of PsomasFMG. "Partnering with NRG Solar will help give us the resources necessary to keep our growth rate strong and demonstrates that the industry understands the effectiveness of our model and our people."
The project with the County of Orange will span five county facilities, including the Peace Officer's Training Facility and County Registrar of Voters, and consist of ground-mounted and carport applications utilizing the latest photovoltaic technology. The solar installations will allow the county and school district to harness the power of renewable energy as well as achieve clear insight into their power costs for years into the future.
"Developing solar energy projects for a government agency such as ours can be a difficult and complicated process, but PsomasFMG has assisted us every step of the way," said Thomas G. Mauk, County Executive Officer for the County of Orange. "We are confident that PsomasFMG's expertise, track record, and integrity will lead to a successful project, making our county greener and bringing taxpayers significant savings on our energy costs."
PsomasFMG will design and manage the construction of the projects through an EPC contractor, while NRG will provide raw materials such as solar panels and power inverters, plus financial resources. The companies will split revenues according to the contributions made for each project.
"NRG's solar generation portfolio continues to expand in both the large-scale solar and the distributed generation spaces. Partnering with fast-growing companies such as PsomasFMG makes great sense to us," said Tom Doyle, President and CEO of NRG Solar. "We are excited about the potential of our partnership with PsomasFMG as we advance the development of solar power in California to help meet the state's ambitious renewable energy goals."
NRG Solar has more than 2,000 MW of large-scale photovoltaic and solar thermal projects under development or in construction across the southwestern United States and dozens of distributed solar locations in the Western Hemisphere. NRG installed the largest solar array in Washington D.C. at FedExField for the National Football League's Washington Redskins and has several more football stadium installations under way.
For the Antelope Valley Union High School District in northern Los Angeles County, PsomasFMG designed, engineered, financed, constructed and began to operate the largest school-based solar project to date in the United States, a 9.6 MW project spread over 10 sites. In 2010, PsomasFMG was the #1 solar developer in Southern California Edison territory, ranked by the number of systems and total megawatts either built or being developed. PsomasFMG is currently pursuing a very extensive pipeline of projects with several local governmental agencies, which it expects to build in 2012.