8minutenergy to kick off construction on 266-MW California solar plant

Nov 13, 2012 - US solar park developer 8minutenergy Renewables LLC said Monday its planned 266-MW Mount Signal Solar farm in Imperial County, California had met all necessary requirements to formally begin construction.

The plant’s given capacity is in direct current (DC), while in alternating current (AC) it is 200 MW. The Mount Signal Solar plant development is the first of three stages of a larger 800-MW DC (600-MW AC) solar PV power project to be built in the area.

The final obstacle to the launch of construction was the securing of USD 636 million (EUR 501m) in project financing by 8minutenergy's joint development partner AES Solar, a joint venture of US power firm AES Corp (NYSE:AES) and private equity firm Riverstone Holdings.

Actual construction at the site started earlier this month and the plant is expected to begin commercial operation in early 2014. The electricity generated at Mount Signal Solar will be sold to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and is expected to power some 65,000 households. The plant's estimated annual output would be some 500 million kWh and it would help avoid the emission of some 356,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.788)

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