sPower said Oct. 21 that it has been awarded a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) to provide 68.8 MW (dc) (55 MW ac) of solar power.
Participating member agencies are the cities of Azusa, Colton, Riverside and Vernon. sPower’s Antelope DSR 1 and 2 facilities will be constructed on roughly 440 acres located in Lancaster in Los Angeles County. Construction is expected to begin in mid 2016, with a commercial operations date (COD) in 2016.
“Renewable energy continues to be a focus for SCPPA members, and with partners like sPower, we are able to offer our members clean, reliable and affordable power,” said Kelly Nguyen, SCPPA Director, Energy Systems.
These projects are the third and fourth sPower-owned facilities with long-term PPAs with the authority. The previous PPAs were for 20 MW projects, both of which are on track for 2016 commercial operation.
“We appreciate the collaborative relationship that has been built with SCPPA,” said Ryan Creamer, sPower’s CEO. “SCPPA is an exceptional organization to work with, balancing goal setting with flexibility — without sacrificing schedule or budget milestones.”
sPower has been developing solar projects in California for several years, as well as in other key markets across ten states and in the United Kingdom. Earlier in the year, the company closed on its first back leverage transaction for $168.5 million in debt financing and has more than a gigawatt of projects planned.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, with offices in San Francisco and New York City, sPower is a prominent independent power producer (IPP) that owns and/or operates more than 150 utility and commercial distributed electrical generation systems across the United States and the UK. sPower is a portfolio company of Fir Tree Partners, a leading global investment fund.
The Southern California Public Power Authority is a joint powers authority (formed under the provisions of the Joint Powers Act of the State of California) consisting of eleven municipal utilities and one irrigation district. SCPPA was formed in 1980 to finance the acquisition of generation and transmission resources for its members, including the acquisition of renewable energy projects on behalf of its members.
