sPower provides 107 MW of power to California water department

The Solverde 1 Solar project will help California Department of Water Resources continue toward its mission of becoming more environmentally responsible.

December 20, 2016 Frank Andorka

sPower's deal to provide 107 MW to California Department of Water Resources (DWR) the Solverde 1 solar farm was one of the company's notable deals that allowed them to connect 500 MW to the grid in the past 65 days.

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has continued its crusade to become ever-more green, purchasing 107 MW from the Solverde 1 solar farm, owned by sPower.

Located in Lancaster, Calif., Solverde 1 contains more than 330,000 solar modules and was developed under an aggressive schedule that lasted a mere 12 months from beginning to end, much faster than most projects its size across the country.

Solverde 1 is the largest solar photovoltaic facility to provide power to the DWR and is currently the largest project in sPower’s portfolio.

“In recent years, the California State Water Project has steadily decreased its carbon footprint,” said Jim Howell, sPower SVP of commercial power marketing. “We’re proud to be able to support their needs with reliable, affordable clean energy.”

sPower designed the power-purchase agreement (PPA) structure of the project to allow DWR to hedge against wholesale price fluctuations by locking in long-term, predictable and competitive power rates.

According to its website, DWR is committed to the ethic of environmental stewardship as it make its decisions about the future demands on water resources and flood protection throughout California. It is also committed to battling climate change, especially in the face of the historic drought that has plagued its state. Purchasing electricity from solar farms like Solverde 1 allow them to continue that commitment.

“Commercial companies looking to meet sustainability targets or control energy costs must navigate a highly sophisticated and complicated landscape,” Howell said. “It will take innovations in PPAs like the ones outlined in our agreement with DWR to simplify the technical requirements for offtakers, which can open up the currently underserved U.S. corporate PPA market.”

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