Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power has acquired a controlling interest in the 157MW Roserock solar facility — the company’s first solar project in Texas — from solar developer Recurrent Energy.
The project is currently being developed by Recurrent Energy, who will own the remaining stake in the site. The project is expected to enter commercial operation by the fourth quarter of 2016.
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Oscar C. Harper, Southern Power president and CEO, said: “Southern Power’s first solar project in Texas helps further the company’s robust wholesale business and further expands our solar footprint. With strategic acquisitions nationally, the continued development of industry-leading assets aligns with our company’s low-risk strategy and enhances one of America’s largest renewable portfolios.”
Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar Inc. chairman and CEO, added: “Cost-competitive, large-scale solar power has enormous potential in Texas. The Roserock project and Recurrent Energy’s solar project pipeline in the state are each important steps forward as Texas approaches the more than 13 gigawatts (GW) of solar that has been forecasted across the state.”
Electricity and associated renewable energy credits produced at the facility will be sold as part of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Austin Energy.
McCarthy Building Companies stands as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company at the Roserock solar facility, which is expected to produce enough energy to power approximately 30,000 homes.
Developed on 526 hectares of land in Pecos County, Texas, the facility will be comprised of around 700,000 Canadian Solar CS6X-P photovoltaic solar modules — which will be mounted on single axis trackers.
Texas has slowly started to emerge as an appealing solar market as of late, as projects such as the 110MW Alamo 6 project began construction back in June 2015. In October 2015, the council of Austin, Texas, voted to increase its solar procurement plans to 450MW, which it hopes to secure by the end of 2019.
