Puerto Rican company AES Ilumina, a subsidiary of AES Solar, has announced the construction of a 24MW solar power plant in Guayama, Puerto Rico, the first utility-scale plant on the Caribbean island.
The site for the plant was purchased from the Puerto Rico industrial development company (PRIDCO) and the construction will be executed by Philadelphia-based company Global Energy Services. At an investment of nearly US$100 million, the plant is expected to commence commercial production in summer 2012 and the energy will be sold to the Puerto Rico electric energy authority under a 20-year PPA.
“We are honored to have been selected to develop, finance, and operate Puerto Rico’s first utility scale solar energy project. Ilumina is a good example of how we were able to leverage AES’ existing presence in the market to expand into a renewable platform. This power plant is also the first investment in our planned expansion into the US solar market. We look forward to future investments in order to support further energy diversification on the island,” said Robert Hemphill, CEO of AES Solar.
