TEP will buy Solar Energy from new 100 MW Solar Array
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) announced that it will buy solar energy at a historically low price from a 100 MW solar array to power 21,000 homes.
The new 100 MW solar array and an accompanying 30-MW energy storage system are expected to be in service by the end of 2019. Together with a planned 100 MW wind project, the new system will give TEP a renewable portfolio that produces enough clean energy each year to serve the annual electric needs of nearly one out of every three Tucson homes. Excluding the cost of storage, TEP will buy the system’s output for 20 years for less than three cents per kilowatt hour – less than half as much as it agreed to pay under similar contracts in recent years.
Senior Director of Energy Supply and Renewable Energy for TEP, Carmine Tilghma said that this new local system combines cost-effective energy production with cutting edge energy storage, helping them provide sustainable, reliable and affordable service to all of their customers for decades to come.
TEP’s customers currently pay nearly four times as much for most excess energy from rooftop solar power systems. While the cost of power from large-scale solar arrays has fallen nearly 75 percent over the last five years, the rate at which TEP compensates rooftop solar customers for excess solar energy has risen to historically high levels.
An affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources will build, own and operate the system on a site owned by the City of Tucson located inside TEP’s service territory south of the metropolitan area. The system will become TEP’s largest dedicated renewable energy resource, supplanting the 80 MW Red Horse wind and solar system near Wilcox at the top of the company’s green power portfolio. NextEra Energy Resources will also build and operate a long duration battery storage system on the site that will help integrate renewable energy resources into TEP’s local energy grid. The storage system will be capable of providing up to 120 megawatt-hours of power.
NextEra Energy Resources SVP of Development, Mike O’Sullivan said that they are pleased to partner with Tucson Electric Power on this exciting new renewable energy project. In addition to clean, low-cost energy, this project will create good-paying jobs and increased tax revenue for the state and local community.
Image Source: TEP