Another phase of a 400MW Texas photovoltaic plant, constructed by a partnership between developer OCI Solar and local utility CPS Energy, has been completed, bringing 5.5MW onto the grid in San Antonio.
Construction on Alamo 3 was begun in September, completed at the end of 2014 and the plant has now begun commercial operation. CPS Energy will buy electricity from the plant through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Solar modules for the latest phase will be supplied by Mission Solar, the manufacturer based in Texas which made the decision to go into manufacturing silicon-based PV locally in 2011. The project is mounted on dual-axis trackers, each featuring 42 modules, with over 21,000 modules used in total.
Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) duties were carried out by another locally headquartered firm, Mortenson. Responsibility for operation of the plant has been passed on to ConEdison Development, a division of the mammoth NYSE-listed utility company ConEdison.
In a quirk of numerical fate, the 39MW Alamo 4 phase, which Mortenson also worked on, was actually completed and connected in January last year, while Alamo 2 came online after it, just under a year ago.
