PRINCETON, N.J.–()–Today, NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), through its wholly owned
subsidiary NRG Solar, announced the start of commercial operations for
the Alpine Solar Generating Station, a 66 megawatt (AC) photovoltaic
facility, currently the largest fully operational solar plant in
California. The station’s electricity will be sold to Pacific Gas &
Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
“PG&E delivers some of the cleanest energy in the nation to our
customers, more than half of which comes from sources which are
carbon-free. The Alpine Solar Generating Station will help PG&E grow its
clean energy portfolio and make progress towards California’s 33 percent
renewable energy goal.”
“The Alpine Generating Station is the latest example of our success in
developing solar projects that create construction jobs and meet the
demands of local utilities for cost-competitive renewable sources of
electricity,” said Randy Hickok, Senior Vice President of NRG Solar.
“Large-scale solar generation like Alpine and other NRG solar sites
provide clean energy during the hottest part of the day when it’s needed
most, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and the resulting carbon
emissions.”
“Pacific Gas and Electric Company remains committed to providing our
customers with a comprehensive portfolio of energy resources that
incorporates all forms of cost-effective clean energy as California
marches forward into a clean energy future,” said Fong Wan, Senior Vice
President of Energy Procurement for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
“PG&E delivers some of the cleanest energy in the nation to our
customers, more than half of which comes from sources which are
carbon-free. The Alpine Solar Generating Station will help PG&E grow its
clean energy portfolio and make progress towards California’s 33 percent
renewable energy goal.”
Dennis Hunter, Deputy Director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said
Alpine has been an exciting and rewarding project for the Department.
“We appreciated the opportunity to work with the NRG team on the first
operational utility-scale project in the unincorporated area of Los
Angeles County. This is a new sector of construction permitting for us
and the processes we developed with NRG will allow us to facilitate the
permitting of similar projects in the future,” Hunter said.
The Alpine array will generate enough energy to meet the annual needs of
approximately 53,000 homes at peak daytime capacity. Using clean solar
power also avoids the annual emission of approximately 36,000 tons of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking more than
6,600 cars off the road.
Alpine is the eighth large-scale solar facility in NRG’s ownership
portfolio that is currently producing clean solar power for thousands of
homes and businesses in three states. The other seven completed or
partially completed plants are Agua Caliente (under construction) and
Avra Valley in Arizona; Roadrunner in New Mexico; and Avenal, Blythe,
Borrego (under construction) and California Valley Solar Ranch (under
construction) in California. A ninth power plant that is not yet
producing power, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in
California, will be completed before the end of this year.
About NRG and NRG Solar
NRG is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use
energy. We deliver cleaner and smarter energy choices for our customers,
backed by the nation’s largest independent power generation portfolio of
fossil fuel, nuclear, solar and wind facilities. A Fortune 300 company,
NRG is challenging the U.S. energy industry by becoming the largest
developer of solar power, building the first privately-funded electric
vehicle charging infrastructure, and providing customers with the most
advanced smart energy solutions to better manage their energy use. In
addition to 47,000 megawatts of generation capacity, enough to supply
nearly 40 million homes, our retail electricity providers – Reliant,
Green Mountain Energy and Energy Plus – serve more than two million
customers. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.
Connect with NRG Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.
NRG Solar LLC, a subsidiary of NRG, has more than 2,000 MW of
photovoltaic and solar thermal projects in operation, under construction
or in development across the southwestern United States. More
information is available at www.nrgsolar.com.
NRG Safe Harbor Disclosure
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are
subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include
NRG’s expectations regarding the Company’s Alpine solar project and
forward-looking statements typically can be identified by the use of
words such as “will,” “expect,” “believe,” and similar terms. Although
NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no
assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and
actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated above include,
among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the
power industry, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility
of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under
contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government
regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, and our ability to
achieve the expected benefits and timing of our electric vehicle
projects. NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could
cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated
in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should
be considered in connection with information regarding risks and
uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results included in NRG’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
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