Canadian Solar announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Recurrent Energy has reached commercial operation of the adjacent 100-MWac/131-MWp Astoria solar project and 75-MWac/100-MWp Astoria 2 solar project, both located in Kern County, California.
“With the help of our trusted partners, the Astoria projects will power more than 40,000 homes with clean energy,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. “These projects, which began operating in late 2016, are part of Recurrent Energy’s milestone 1.2-GW 2016 project portfolio.”
GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, provided a tax equity investment for both projects. Financing for the Astoria project was announced in November 2015, and financing for the Astoria 2 facility was announced in January 2016. Both projects employ GE’s solar inverter technology.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Recurrent Energy on the Astoria projects and see them through commercial operation,” said Kevin Walsh, managing director and head of Renewables at GE Energy Financial Services. “As we continue to invest over $1 billion annually in the U.S. renewable energy market, well-developed assets such as the Astoria projects are critical to our success.”
Pacific Gas and Electric Company will buy electricity and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by the Astoria project under a long-term PPA. Electricity and associated RECs from the Astoria 2 project will be purchased by the Southern California Public Power Authority and four of its members (Cities of Azusa, Banning, Colton and Vernon), the Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority, and the Cities of Corona, Lodi, Moreno Valley and Rancho Cucamonga.
News item from Canadian Solar