Another Utah solar energy facility has gone on line. D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), a provider of renewable energy across North America, has announced that its 180- megawatt Cove Mountain solar project in Iron County has begun commercial operation.
“The DESRI team is thrilled to begin commercial operations at our Cove Mountain facilities, which were completed through our strong partnerships with PacifiCorp, Facebook and First Solar,” said David Zwillinger, CEO of DESRI. “These are the first of DESRI’s renewable energy projects in Utah to reach commercial operation, representing an important milestone in our mission to expand the production of clean, cost-effective energy in Utah.”
Cove Mountain and Cove Mountain 2 have long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with PacifiCorp on behalf of Facebook, providing Facebook’s data center operations with new solar resources. Swinerton Renewable Energy constructed the projects.
The acquisition and construction of the Cove Mountain project was financed by a syndicate of lenders, including HSBC as coordinating lead arranger, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, National Cooperative Services Corp. and Fifth Third Bank. Wells Fargo provided tax equity for the projects.
Cove Mountain and Cove Mountain 2 represent two of DESRI’s nine projects that are currently operating, under construction or have signed PPAs in Utah. DESRI’s other projects in Utah include Hunter Solar, which began operating this year, and Sigurd Solar, which reached mechanical completion in March.