Red Hills Renewable Energy Park is a 104 MWp (80 MWAC) photovoltaic power plant located about 3 miles northwest of the town of Parowan in Iron County, Utah. It was the largest solar facility in the state when it came online in December, 2015. The power is being sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement to Rocky Mountain Power which serves customers in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Project details
The project takes advantage of the abundant sunshine at a cool high elevation of over 6,000 feet in the Parowan Valley. It is located on 632 acres of private land close to an existing Rocky Mountain Power substation. The project includes a visitor center named for the late Dennis Stowell, a state senator who represented Iron County.
The project was developed by the Norwegian firm Scatec Solar starting in 2011, and was originally estimated to cost up to $500 million. Google and Prudential Capital eventually came online as investors in the project in late 2014 with tax equity and debt financing support; with Google and Scatec Solar to retain joint ownership of the completed facility. Construction was anticipated to create approximately 120 to 200 jobs, of which 80% were to be local.
Construction began in December 2014, and completed in December 2015. Swinerton Renewable Energy served as the EPC contractor. The total investment in the completed facility has been estimated at $188 million (much less than when planning started in 2011 due to the substantial drop in PV panel prices). The 340,784 modules are expected to produce 210 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year, enough to supply about 18,500 homes.
On December 29, 2016 it was announced that Scatec Solar had sold its ownership interest in the operating facility to the Australian Macquarie Group. Swinerton Renewable Energy operates and maintains the facility.
Electricity production
+Generation (MW·h) of Utah Red Hills Renewable Energy Park Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2015 12,281 12,281 2016 10,077 15,475 17,130 17,647 22,433 24,164 25,282 20,355 19,818 16,158 12,084 7,448 208,071 2017 8,466 12,510 18,735 20,576 24,524 26,812 19,976 19,145 17,113 18,000 12,383 11,333 209,574 2018 10,867 12,780 16,525 20,027 23,079 24,802 21,618 21,584 20,745 15,469 12,751 9,232 209,479 2019 10,310 10,863 16,183 19,051 20,282 22,814 21,594 21,982 18,146 17,837 11,086 8,080 198,228Average Annual Production (years 2016-2019) ---> 206,338
See also
Solar power in Utah List of power stations in Utah
References