Three Cedars Solar Project
Iron Springs Unit
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationIron County
Coordinates37°43′16″N 113°09′06″W / 37.72111°N 113.15167°W / 37.72111; -113.15167
StatusOperational
Construction beganSeptember 2015
Commission dateSeptember 2016
Construction cost$400 million
Owner(s)Dominion Renewable Energy
Operator(s)Swinerton Renewable Energy
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
single-axis tracking
Site area1,600 acres (6.47 km2)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity265 MWp, 210 MWAC
Capacity factor29.5% (average 2017-2019)
Annual net output543 GW·h, 340 MW·h/acre
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]
Three Cedars Solar Project, Iron Springs Unit

Three Cedars Solar Project is a 210 MWAC (265 MWp) photovoltaic power station consisting of three units extending about 15 miles northwest of Cedar City, Utah. The project was developed by SunEdison, built with its global team of partners, and commissioned in September 2016.[1] The electricity and renewable energy credits are being sold to Rocky Mountain Power under three separate 20-year power purchase agreements.[2][3]

Project details

The project consists of three separate units distributed on private land along the headwaters of Iron Springs Creek at a sunny and cool elevation near 6,000 feet.[4][5]

Three Cedars Solar Project
Unit Capacity
MWAC 		Complete
Date 		Coordinates Site Area
(approx)
Iron Springs 80 MW July 2016 37°43′16″N 113°09′06″W / 37.72111°N 113.15167°W / 37.72111; -113.15167 (Iron Springs) 600 acres
Granite Mountain East 80 MW October 2016 37°46′30″N 113°13′35″W / 37.77500°N 113.22639°W / 37.77500; -113.22639 (Granite Mountain East) 600 acres
Granite Mountain West 50.4 MW October 2016 37°47′08″N 113°16′43″W / 37.78556°N 113.27861°W / 37.78556; -113.27861 (Granite Mountain West) 400 acres

Planning was initiated by the independent renewable energy developer First Wind (founded 2002) which began expanding into photovoltaic energy around 2012.[6] First Wind and its extensive portfolio of assets in western Utah were acquired by SunEdison and its TerraForm Power yield co in November 2014.[7] Beginning construction at the time was the 20.2 MW Seven Sisters Project, a dispersed set of ~3 MW facilities throughout Beaver and Iron counties.[8][9]

To finance the construction of Three Cedars, SunEdison entered into a joint venture with Dominion Resources. The resulting entity, Dominion Renewable Energy, utilized $80 million from SunEdison and $320 million from Dominion to start construction in September 2015.[2] The two companies also previously entered a joint venture to construct the 320 MW Four Brothers Project, which includes the three co-located 80 MW Escalante units in Beaver County and the 80 MW Enterprise unit in Iron County, on about the same timeline.[10]

Construction of Three Cedars progressed simultaneously at all three sites, created an estimated 250 local construction jobs, and was completed by October 2016.[1][4] Along with the electricity to power more than 36,000 homes, it is expected to produce $17 million in property and income taxes for the region over 20 years.[2][5] The project is operated and maintained by Swinerton Renewable Energy.[11]

SunEdison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 21, 2016, but was able to complete the project on time with its receipt of $300 million in bankruptcy debt financing.[12] On September 13, 2016 the company was forced to sell its stake in the completed facilities in a fire sale. NRG Energy was the successful bidder.[13]

Electricity production

Total Facility Generation
(Annual Sum from All Units Below)
Year Total Annual MW·h
2016 196,000
2017 548,663
2018 543,454
2019 537,739
Average (2017-2019) 543,285
Generation (MW·h) of Iron Springs Solar - (80 MW unit) [14]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2016 15,990 22,101 20,386 19,179 15,630 12,391 8,799 114,476
2017 8,564 12,655 18,952 20,815 24,809 27,123 20,208 19,367 17,312 18,209 12,527 11,465 212,005
2018 10,987 12,921 16,708 20,249 23,334 25,076 21,857 21,822 20,974 15,640 12,892 9,334 211,796
2019 10,829 11,411 16,999 20,012 21,305 23,964 22,683 23,091 19,061 18,736 11,645 8,488 208,224
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) : 210,675
Generation (MW·h) of Granite Mountain Solar East - (80 MW unit) [15]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2016 12,633 9,216 13,374 12,138 8,436 55,797
2017 8,430 12,457 18,656 20,489 24,421 26,699 19,891 19,064 17,041 17,924 12,331 11,285 208,687
2018 10,795 12,695 16,416 19,895 22,926 24,638 21,475 21,441 20,607 15,366 12,666 9,171 208,091
2019 10,614 11,184 16,660 19,613 20,881 23,487 22,231 22,631 18,681 18,363 11,413 8,319 204,075
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) : 206,951
Generation (MW·h) of Granite Mountain Solar West - (50.4 MW unit) [16]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2016 3,176 6,217 3,441 7,452 5,441 25,727
2017 5,169 7,639 11,440 12,564 14,975 16,372 12,198 11,690 10,450 10,991 7,561 6,920 127,971
2018 6,410 7,538 9,748 11,814 13,614 14,630 12,752 12,732 12,237 9,125 7,522 5,446 123,567
2019 6,524 6,874 10,241 12,056 12,835 14,437 13,665 13,911 11,483 11,287 7,015 5,113 125,440
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) : 125,659

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "530 MW-AC of solar projects come online in Utah". pv-magazine-usa.com. November 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "SunEdison, Dominion Partner on 265 Megawatt, Three Cedars Solar Project in Utah". PR Newswire. September 8, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "EIA Electricity Data Browser - Utah". eia.gov. US Energy Information Administration. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Utah Solar Projects". Dominion Energy. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Brian Maffly (December 11, 2015). "Utah's first utility-scale solar goes online". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "First Wind, Rocky Mountain Power Agree PPA for 'Four Brothers' Solar Development". solarbuildermag.com. June 19, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "SunEdison, TerraForm Buy First Wind for $2.4B to Become Renewable Project Giant". greentechmedia.com. November 17, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  8. ^ "SunEdison Breaks Ground On 22.6 MW Seven Sisters Solar Power Plants In Utah". April 8, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Seven Sisters Projects Come to Stellar Completion". November 13, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  10. ^ "SunEdison Partners with Dominion for 420-MW "Four Brothers" PV Project in Utah". energytrend.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "Swinerton Renewable Energy - Projects". Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Bomey, Nathan (April 21, 2016). "SunEdison files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  13. ^ "NRG snatches up 2.1 GW of SunEdison projects". pv-magazine-usa.com. September 13, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "Iron Springs Solar, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "Granite Mountain Solar East, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "Granite Mountain Solar West, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
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