Solar developer SunPower acquired the 100MWac Boulder Solar Project from KOMIPO America earlier this year. As a 20-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy has been signed, SunPower announced to officially start constructing the project in the Eldorado Valley of Boulder City, Nevada and will utilize its Oasis® Power Plant system for improving the power output performance.
KOMIPO America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd., is an electric utility company and independent power producer operating 14GW of diversified generating capacity globally. The company was the original lead developer for the Boulder Solar project, and will support SunPower’s construction and operation of Boulder Solar plant.
Covering a land of approximately 600 acres, the Boulder plant is expected to be operational in 2016. The power generation may be enough for powering 60,000 local homes during daylight house, estimated NV Energy.
"With more than 5.8GW of operating solar systems worldwide, the power plants we deliver leverage SunPower's proven experience and innovative, high performance technology," said Jorg Heinemann, SunPower executive vice president, global power plants. "We are pleased to partner again with NV Energy to power more Nevada homes and businesses with sustainable, cost-competitive solar."
The SunPower® Oasis® Power Plant system used for the site is a fully-integrated, modular solar power block that is engineered for rapid and cost-effective deployment of utility-scale solar projects while optimizing land use. The technology includes robotic solar panel cleaning capability that uses 75% less water than traditional cleaning methods and can help improve system performance by up to 15%.
SunPower also completed a 15MW solar power plant for NV Energy at Nellis Air Force Base earlier this year.
