Copper Mountain Solar Facility

Copper Mountain Solar Facility

Copper Mountain Solar 1 (at left)
Location of Copper Mountain Solar Facility in Nevada
Country United States
Location Boulder City, Nevada
Coordinates 35°47′N 114°59.5′W / 35.783°N 114.9917°W / 35.783; -114.9917Coordinates: 35°47′N 114°59.5′W / 35.783°N 114.9917°W / 35.783; -114.9917
Status Operational
Construction began January 2010
Commission date December 1, 2010
Construction cost $141 million (copper mountailn 1 only - 58MW)
Owner(s) Sempra Generation
Solar field
Type Flat-panel PV
Power generation
Units operational 775,000 First Solar panels
Nameplate capacity 458 MW
Planned: 552 MW
Capacity factor 24%
Average generation ~770 GWh

The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 458 MWp[1] solar photovoltaic power plant in Boulder City, Nevada.[2] Sempra Generation announced on December 1, 2010 that it had finished phase 1 of the project and the facility was generating electricity. When the facility entered service, it was the largest photovoltaic plant in the U.S. at 58 MW.[3][4]

The expected output of 100 GW·h/year[5] from Copper Mountain Solar Facility phase 1 has been sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).[2] Power generated from phase 2 has been sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).[6] Power generated from phase 3 is sold to the Southern California Public Power Authority.

History

Sempra Generation built the plant from January 2010 to December 1, 2010,[3] at a cost of about $141 million.,[7] although it appears this is just for 48 MW expansion.

At its construction peak more than 350 workers were installing the 775,000 First Solar panels on the 450-acre (180 ha) site.[2][4]

An expansion of the facility by more than 200 MW was approved in 2010.[3] On August 4, 2011, Sempra announced a plan to expand the facility by 92 MW to be online in January 2013 and another 58 MW to be added by 2015.[8]

Copper Mountain Solar 3 is the third phase of the Copper Mountain Solar complex. Construction on the 250 MW solar project began in 2013 and was completed in early 2015, with a formal dedication ceremony on 30th April 2015.[9] This stage is capable of generating enough electricity to power about 80,000 homes.[10]

Copper Mountain Solar 4 is the fourth phase of the Copper Mountain Solar complex. Construction on the 94 MW expansion project is scheduled to commence in 2015, creating about 350 construction jobs at peak, with completion expected by year-end 2016.[11]

Units

Solar Facility Units
Unit Capacity (MW) [12] Commissioning Construction cost ($m) Owner PPA PPA length
Unit 1 [13] 58 MW Dec 2010 $141m Sempra U.S. Gas & Power Pacific Gas & Electric 25yrs
Unit2 [14][4][15] 92 MW late 2012 Sempra U.S. Gas & Power & Consolidated Edison Development Pacific Gas & Electric 25yrs
Unit2 ext. 58 MW 2015 Sempra U.S. Gas & Power & Consolidated Edison Development Pacific Gas & Electric 25yrs
Unit3 [16][17] 250 MW mid-2015 Sempra U.S. Gas & Power & Consolidated Edison Development Southern California Public Power Authority 20yrs
Unit4 [18][19] 94 MW end-2016(e) Sempra U.S. Gas & Power Southern California Edison (SCE) 20yrs from 2020

Production

Generation (MWh) of Copper Mountain Solar 1 CM10[20]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2008 826 826
2009 416 727 2,136 2,472 2,863 2,102 2,486 2,882 2,386 1,573 1,063 556 21,661
2010 299 554 1,367 1,746 2,474 2,920 2,256 2,845 2,652 1,606 1,529 898 21,146
2011 971 1,301 1,631 2,275 2,512 2,874 2,103 2,469 1,765 1,700 1,041 903 21,546
2012 556 726 1,048 1,619 2,373 2,451 2,172 2,132 2,426 2,356 1,909 1,477 21,245
2013 1,152 1,412 1,736 2,015 2,169 2,208 1,709 1,706 1,678 1,951 1,327 1,312 20,375
2014 973 1,017 1,466 1,545 1,828 2,096 1,835 1,995 2,066 2,093 1,779 1,177 19,869
Total 126,668
Generation (MWh) of Copper Mountain Solar 1 CM48[21]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2010 1,690 2,412 3,918 4,305 5,394 6,670 5,387 29,776
2011 7,756 8,077 9,249 10,350 10,992 10,636 9,231 10,164 8,558 9,165 7,147 6,719 108,044
2012 7,564 7,486 9,414 9,668 11,081 10,638 9,422 9,029 9,507 9,180 7,320 6,069 106,378
2013 7,290 7,986 9,320 10,156 10,504 10,195 8,769 8,870 8,887 9,320 6,863 7,091 105,251
2014 7,355 7,125 9,633 9,796 10,454 10,131 8,784 9,171 9,146 8,988 7,672 5,201 103,456
2015 6,573 7,807 9,359 10,147 9,204 9,639 9,052 9,250 8,947 7,994 7,549 6,415 101,936
Total 540,877
Generation (MWh) of Copper Mountain Solar 2 [22]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2012 5,751 9,416 12,825 13,857 14,648 15,569 72,066
2013 14,949 15,059 15,532 16,971 19,397 19,402 19,450 19,879 20,112 21,460 22,276 22,448 226,935
2014 11,000 15,521 15,742 16,628 19,590 20,043 20,143 20,509 20,614 20,723 22,234 22,239 224,986
2015 15,813 22,606 22,847 25,639 33,533 35,903 34,065 34,143 32,696 29,542 28,180 22,983 357,932
Total 881,919
Generation (MWh) of Copper Mountain Solar 3 [23]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2014 3,789 11,030 14,733 20,025 22,417 23,153 29,671 30,470 155,288
2015 33,165 45,414 55,583 60,855 57,697 61,213 58,343 56,164 53,406 46,609 43,550 35,437 607,436
Total 762,724

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Copper Mountain Solar Facility.

References

  1. ↑ Copper Mountain Solar I
  2. 1 2 3 America's Largest PV Power Plant Is Now Live (December 6, 2010), Renewable Energy World.
  3. 1 2 3 "Copper Mountain Solar, the Largest Photovoltaic Solar Plant in the U.S.". Solar Thermal Magazine. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Shine, Conor (March 20, 2012). "Five things you should know about Copper Mountain Solar before President Obama's visit". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  5. ↑ "PG&E Contracts With Sempra Generation For More Solar Power" (Press release). Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). July 27, 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.semprausgp.com/energy-solutions/solar-cms2.html
  7. ↑ Goldberg, Delen (April 3, 2011). "Questions emerge over tax breaks for solar project". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  8. ↑ Sempra to expand Copper Mountain solar plant, Reuters, Aug 4, 201
  9. ↑ http://sempra.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=19080&item=137041
  10. ↑ http://www.semprausgp.com/energy-solutions/solar-cms3.html
  11. ↑ http://www.semprausgp.com/energy-solutions/solar-cms4.html
  12. ↑ "facility details".
  13. ↑ "facility details".
  14. ↑ "facility details".
  15. ↑ Copper Mountain Solar 2
  16. ↑ "facility details".
  17. ↑ Copper Mountain Solar 3
  18. ↑ "facility details".
  19. ↑ Copper Mountain Solar 4
  20. ↑ Energy Information Administration. "CM10, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  21. ↑ Energy Information Administration. "CM48, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  22. ↑ Energy Information Administration. "Copper Mountain Solar 2, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  23. ↑ Energy Information Administration. "Copper Mountain Solar 2, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
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