Renewable energy developer rPlus Energies has found a buyer for the power generated at its 400-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility soon to begin construction in Emery County. The Salt Lake City company has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with PacifiCorp.
The Emery County plants, named Green River Energy Center, is currently the largest planned solar plus storage facility in Utah and one of the largest facilities in the PacifiCorp system. It also includes an integrated 200-megawatt battery energy storage system.
“Emery County has been an energy community for a long time,” said Luigi Resta, president and CEO of rPlus Energies. “With the Huntington and Hunter plants due to reach end of useful life over the next 10 to 20 years, the fabric of the county is rapidly transforming. The Green River Energy Center continues the legacy of pioneering change and discovery in the region.”
“We appreciate the opportunity to work with valued customers like rPlus Energies in helping to provide solutions to meet renewable energy goals,” said Craig Eller, Rocky Mountain Power vice president of business policy and development. “We look forward to our continued partnership and future collaboration.”
Sundt Construction has been selected by to provide the engineering, procurement and construction services for the combined solar and storage facilities. Construction is expected to commence in early 2023 and is expected to create over 400 construction jobs as well as multiple permanent positions. In addition to increased job opportunities and utilization of construction-related firms in the surrounding area, Green River Energy Center represents a roughly $750 million investment in Utah’s economy and will provide substantial tax benefits to Emery County.
The Green River project adds to rPlus Energies’ projects in Utah, including the 80-megawatt Graphite Solar project in Carbon County, which achieved commercial operation in June, and the 200-megawatt Appaloosa Solar 1 project in Iron County, which commenced construction earlier in 2022. Both projects hold long-term PPAs with PacifiCorp under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 green energy tariff, which allows large customers to purchase renewable energy generated on their behalf. The addition of the Green River PPA brings rPlus Energies’ total contracted renewable generation capacity to over 1.2 gigawatts, all executed since the organization formed in late 2018.