Utah's first utility-scale solar plant producing power for 18,500 homes

More than 340,000 photovoltaic solar modules are now producing 210 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually at Utah's first operational utility-scale solar generating plant. The facility, located on 632 acres of privately owned land near Parowan, was formally commissioned for operation in mid-December.

Scatec Solar, the Sweden-based solar power producer, formally commissioned its 104-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant in Parowan with a ceremony in mid-December. The Utah Red Hills Renewable Park is Utah’s first utility-scale solar plant and will more than double the state’s current solar footprint. According to Scatec officials, the plant was commissioned on schedule and constructed in less than a year.

The Red Hills facility went operational a week after the ceremony and is now generating around 210 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, the equivalent of the electric power used by approximately 18,500 homes annually, to be fed into the grid under a 20-year power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power.

“We want to thank Scatec Solar because this experience has helped Rocky Mountain Power learn what works to help other solar projects that will be starting up soon here in Utah,” said Paul Clements, Rocky Mountain Power director of commercial services, at the event onsite in Parowan. “This project is part of Rocky Mountain Power’s commitment to be good guardians of our environment and wise stewards who work to keep electricity prices at some of the lowest rates in the nation.”

“The commissioning of the Utah plant is a significant landmark for Scatec Solar. The fact that we were able to build this 104 megawatt plant within 12 months is the proof of our company’s capability to deploy solar power rapidly,” said Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar. “The Utah plant also underlines the importance of delivering results and choosing partners whose core values match our own — in this case, [project investors] Swinerton, Google and Prudential Capital Group. That our company is able to realize solar plants simultaneously in different continents is a tremendous tribute to our tireless and dedicated team.”

With its sunny days and cool temperatures, Utah is one of the top seven states in the United States with the greatest potential solar capacity. In 2008, Utah enacted the Energy Resource and Carbon Emission Reduction Initiative, setting a renewable portfolio goal of 20 percent by 2025, requiring utilities to pursue renewable energy to the extent that it is cost-effective to do so.  With the Red Hills project, Utah is the first state to build a solar plant greater than 80MW without a more aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Scatec Solar has been publicly recognized for its role in pioneering utility-scale solar in Utah. Utah Clean Energy recently named Scatec Solar its 2015 Clean Energy MVP for the company’s contributions to advancing clean energy solutions in Utah and the West. Specifically, the company was honored for its role in enabling Utah’s first utility-scale solar plant and for helping lead the way to enable nearly a gigawatt of renewable energy projects in Utah. Scatec is currently developing a second 80-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant — the Three Peaks Power Plant, also in Iron County.

“We are very proud of our role in advancing solar energy in Utah—a state with such excellent solar potential,” said Luigi Resta, CEO, Scatec Solar North America. “Utah Red Hills Renewable Park — the state’s first utility-scale solar plant — and other projects in our pipeline represent a huge step forward in bringing the sun’s clean, sustainable energy to more Utahns.”

Total investment for the plant has been estimated at $188 million. with Google providing tax equity, Prudential Capital Group providing debt financing and Scatec providing sponsor equity. The power plant is wholly owned by a partnership jointly owned by Google and Scatec, with Scatec managing and operating the plant.

“We are pleased to join Scatec Solar and Prudential in bringing solar energy to the state of Utah.  We hope that projects like these will encourage the development of additional renewable energy throughout the state,” said Nicolas Coons, Google’s head of renewable energy investments.

Scatec hired Swinerton Renewable Energy to lead engineering, procurement and construction of the ground-mounted photovoltaic solar facility that interconnects to an existing transmission line. The plant was built on approximately 632 acres of privately owned land in Parowan and deployed more than 340,000 photovoltaic solar modules on a single-axis tracking system.