Construction begins on sPower’s 100-MW Central Arizona solar project

Construction is underway on East Line Solar, a new PV plant that is expected to generate $10 million in 25 years of tax revenue and up to 350 construction jobs in Pinal County, Arizona. The project, handled by Salt River Project (SRP) and sPower, upon completion will deliver 100 MW of solar generation to the Intel Corporation’s Chandler facility.

“Intel is proud to support new, renewable energy built in Arizona and we are looking forward to East Line Solar supplying our growing Arizona manufacturing operations,” said Marty Sedler, Intel’s director of global utilities and infrastructure. “For more than a decade, Intel has been one of the top voluntary corporate purchasers of green power, currently supplying our US and European facilities with 100% green power. Our goal is to achieve 100% renewable energy use across our global manufacturing operations by 2030 and projects like East Line Solar help make green power more accessible to all.”

East Line Solar received its conditional use permits in Coolidge in 2019 and is expected to begin operations in December 2020. The project will provide sustained tax revenue to the local community as well as sustainable energy at a fixed price for the 25-year contracted life of the project.

The 350 construction workers are employed for six to seven months and approximately three full-time equivalent workers will be employed long term, with a focus on hiring locally.

“sPower has proven its commitment to renewable energy for a sustainable future, and the city is fortunate to partner with the sPower team to expand in one of the region’s fastest-growing industrial and technology corridors,” said Rick Miller, city manager of Coolidge. “It is also gratifying to have community partners like sPower that give back to the community and work with us on our efforts to better the environment for our citizens.”

This development is part of SRP’s Sustainable Energy Offering, a program that gives SRP commercial customers the option to power a portion of their operations with clean, emission-free energy at an affordable price. There are now a total of 33 companies, including 21 organizations recently announced, that have signed up to receive 300 MW of solar energy provided from Arizona-based solar plants, including the sPower East Line Solar facility.

The East Line Solar facility will support Intel’s Chandler Ocotillo Campus, one of the corporation’s largest global, semiconductor manufacturing sites. The solar plant is also part of SRP’s growing portfolio of clean energy resources contributing to the utility’s 2035 Sustainability Goals to reduce carbon intensity by more than 60% in 2035 and by 90% in 2050 from 2005 levels.

“This is a scenario that works well for all involved,” said Jim Pratt, SRP associate general manager and chief customer executive. “With the East Line Solar project, we are supporting a great, locally based partner, Intel, meet its sustainability goals. We also experience many other benefits associated with utility-scale solar investment, like job creation and expansion in an environmentally sensible, growing industry.”

“We are committed to Pinal County for the long term with this low-cost, highly economically impactful project. We also seek to be a good neighbor as we develop, construct and operate projects, and it’s important for us to integrate ourselves from the start. Recent COVID-19 relief efforts have included donations to Eloy’s Community Action Human Services and Coolidge’s Hope International Ministries,” said Ryan Creamer, sPower CEO.

News item from sPower

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Original Source: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/09/construction-begins-on-spower-central-arizona-solar-project/