Turner Renewable Energy, owned by media moghul Ted Turner, will be one of the new owners of a 20MW thin-film PV plant in the US constructed by Solar Frontier Americas.
Turner Energy and utility holding company Southern Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company, formed a strategic alliance in 2010 to develop renewable energy projects. The latest acquisition is Calipatria Solar Facility in Imperial County, California.
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Power from the plant, as well as renewable energy credits (RECs) will be sold to investor-owned utility San Diego Gas & Electric under a 20 year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Solar Frontier Americas, a branch of Japan-headquartered Solar Frontier, said the plant will produce around 52,000MWh of electricity annually from its 130,000 CIS thin-film modules. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the project’s completion in late January.
Turner Energy and Southern Power previously bought a 15MW plant from Solar Frontier Americas in October. The latest acquisition brings the pair’s renewable assets in operation or development to 340MW across nine projects. Solar Frontier Americas, meanwhile, bought a 280MW pipeline of projects in North America in April 2015.
According to a factsheet on the Southern Company website, a rival thin-film firm, US-headquartered First Solar, will operate and maintain the Calipatria plant.
