Work on what will become one of the largest photovoltaic plants worldwide began back in September. Over a two-year construction period, to be carried out by SunPower, 350 jobs are expected to be created on the project, which was acquired by NRG on September 30.
Expectations are that the project will be ready to begin partial operations in early 2012. Meanwhile, the remainder is slated to come online later in 2012 and 2013. Once fully completed, NRG and SunPower have said they will jointly operate and maintain the CVSR for two years, after which NRG will assume sole responsibility.
In terms of equipment, SunPower is installing the its Oasis Power Plant product, a fully integrated, modular solar power block. The power block kits will be shipped pre-assembled to the job site for "rapid" field installation.
It is hoped that when operational, the CVSR will generate enough energy to supply 100,000 homes. The 25 year power purchase agreements, which were approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, will see the electricity be sold to Pacific Gas & Electricity.
Tom Doyle, president of NRG's Solar and West Region commented, "We fully expect the price of solar to continue declining, which will make solar power increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuel generation for many states in the near future."
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