SunEdison will construct new solar plants in West Texas to supply the City of Georgetown with 150 MW of solar power for 25-years. Upon completion, SunEdison expects to offer this project for investment to TerraForm Power.
"SunEdison is very excited to be working with Georgetown Utility Systems to provide their customers with 100% renewable, clean energy," said Paul Gaynor, Executive Vice President of North America Utility and Global Wind at SunEdison. "Georgetown is an exceptional city, and by going 100% renewable they will cut down on pollution, save water, and enjoy stable energy prices. They're able to accomplish all of this without spending a penny up front with SunEdison's power purchase agreement."
The solar plants will be interconnected in 2016, and will provide over 9,500 GWh of clean energy to Georgetown through 2041, enough to power more than 24,000 homes a year for 25 years. This project will create close to 800 jobs in Texas during construction.
"When Georgetown Utility Systems opted to seek new sources of power in 2012, we were charged with a mission to secure the most cost effective energy that balanced risk and reward," says Jim Briggs, interim city manager for the City and general manager for utilities. "Georgetown Utility Services isn't required to buy solar or other renewables - we did so because it will save on electricity costs and decrease our water usage. This power purchase agreement makes Georgetown Utility Systems one of the largest municipal utilities in the nation to be 100% renewable powered. It also provides a hedge against future fuel and regulatory risks."
The power purchase agreement is one of the largest solar agreements in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) jurisdiction, and represents the largest utility scale solar agreement that SunEdison has signed in Texas to date. SunEdison will construct the project and provide financing. Operation and maintenance of the solar power plants will be performed by SunEdison Services, which provides global 24/7 asset management, monitoring and reporting services.