SRP signs PPA for 440+ MW of solar capacity

Clēnera and Salt River Project announced a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the public utility and Clēnera’s affiliate, CO Bar Solar LLC. The PPA represents the utility’s largest standalone solar power plant currently under development  northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona.

CO Bar Solar is slated to be commercially operational in 2024 and will deliver between 440 and 480 megawatts (MWdc) of renewable energy to SRP customers. Clēnera, a developer of large-scale solar and storage projects, and a unit of Enlight Renewable Energy, will construct and operate CO Bar Solar.

CO Bar Solar will occupy up to 2,400 acres of private land in Coconino County. Construction is expected to begin in 2023.

SRP said it expects that nearly half of the retail energy it delivers to its customers will come from carbon-free resources by 2025. The resources contribute to SRP’s goals to reduce carbon intensity by 65%  in 2035 and by 90% in 2050, compared with 2005 levels.

In August, NextEra Energy Resources said it would build the 260 MW Sonoran Energy Center solar project in Buckeye, Arizona, near Phoenix. SRP contracted for the output from the energy center, which will include one of the largest solar-charged battery projects in Arizona. Construction work could begin this fall and the capital investment is pegged at $600 million.

SRP also contracted for a large-scale solar and battery storage project at Pinal Central Solar Energy Center, and is bringing online a new grid-charged battery storage project at the Agua Fria Generating Station.

Late last year, SRP brought online the 100 MW East Line Solar and the 100 MW Saint Solar. The two utility-scale solar fields serve commercial, municipal, and educational customers who participate in SRP’s Sustainable Energy Offering.