NRG Energy, Inc.(NYSE: NRG), through its wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar, announced the start of commercial operations for the Borrego I Solar Generating Station, a 26 megawatt (AC) photovoltaic facility located northeast of Borrego Springs, Calif. The station’s electricity will be sold to San Diego Gas & Electric under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
“Borrego is our first utility-scale solar facility providing power to the San Diego area, helping to create local construction jobs and meet SDG&E’s demands for cost-competitive renewable sources of electricity,” said Randy Hickok, Senior Vice President of NRG Solar. “Our large-scale solar facilities provide clean, renewable energy that Californians want for their homes and to power the electric vehicle infrastructure NRG is currently building in California and Texas. Taken together, solar and electric vehicles will go a long way toward reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and our carbon emissions.”
“The Borrego I Solar Generating Station will provide clean renewable solar power for our customers, and is the first utility scale local renewable project to come online in San Diego County since 2006,” said Matt Burkhart, vice president of electric and fuel procurement for SDG&E. “We applaud NRG Energy for their perseverance in getting this project constructed and look forward to more local renewable projects.”
The Borrego facility will generate enough energy to meet the annual needs of approximately 9,000 homes. Using clean solar power also avoids the annual emission of approximately 19,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 3,500 cars off the road.
Borrego is one of eight large-scale solar facilities 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, Alpine and California Valley Solar Ranch (under construction) in California. A ninth solar plant that is not yet producing power, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California, is expected to be completed before the end of this year.
In addition to developing California’s largest solar portfolio currently under contract, NRG is investing more than $100 million to build the nation’s first comprehensive, privately funded electric vehicle infrastructure. NRG plans to install thousands of charging stations at homes, offices, multi-family communities and retail locations throughout major metropolitan areas in California, Texas and the Washington D.C./Maryland/Northern Virginia region.