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Eurus Energy and NRG Solar Partner to Build Californiaa?s Largest Solar Photovoltaic Generating Facility

^{Published on 2010-09-23 13:25:38 - Market Wire}
 

PRINCETON, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Eurus Energy America and NRG Solar, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), have joined forces to build what will be, upon completion, the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) generating facility in California. When operating at full capacity, the three Avenal zero-emission solar projectsa"Avenal Park, Sun City and Sand Draga"will generate a total of 45 megawatts (MW), enough power to meet the needs of 36,000 homes cleanly and efficiently. The Avenal projects, located in Kings County, CA, were developed by Eurus and are owned jointly by Eurus and NRG.

"We believe Avenal represents not only a bold new chapter in developing clean, zero-emission solar power in California, but also is a key piece in helping the state meet its ambitious renewable portfolio standard by the end of the decade"

Eurus and NRG have completed construction financing on all three projects, and given full notice to proceed on Sun City (20 MW) and Sand Drag (19 MW) to the Ryan Company, Inc., the engineering, procurement and contracting firm that will construct the Avenal projects. Ryan Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR), will begin mobilizing immediately to start construction, with the projects expected to achieve commercial operation in mid-2011. The California Public Utilities Commission has approved the 20-year Avenal power purchase agreements with Pacific Gas & Electric.

NRG Solar and Eurusa™ expertise developing solar power, utility construction and operation, backed by their corporate resources, will ensure the Avenal projects are brought online and on schedule to help the state achieve its short-term goals for greater renewable powera"and advance Californiaa™s progress significantly toward achieving its stated target of 33% renewable power generation by 2020.

aWe believe Avenal represents not only a bold new chapter in developing clean, zero-emission solar power in California, but also is a key piece in helping the state meet its ambitious renewable portfolio standard by the end of the decade,a said Tom Doyle, President of NRG Solar. aCalifornia continues to lead our nation in mandating the increasing use of renewable power, and, as the owners of the largest PV site there today, we look forward to continuing our partnership with California and our leadership as a developer of this bountiful, sustainable power source.a

aThe Avenal projects are just the first of many utility-scale PV solar projects that we expect to be developing, building and owning in the State of California. We are very pleased to be adding these solar power projects to our portfolio of wind projects helping California reach its nation-leading goals to increase the utilization of emission-free power generation,a said Mark E. Anderson, President and CEO of Eurus Energy America.

Along with the clean power it will bring to California, the projects also will bring much-needed jobs to an economically distressed area.

Avenal will be built with thin film solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics, solidifying Sharpa™s presence in the California utility scale market and bolstering diversity of supply for Californiaa™s growing solar infrastructure.

About Eurus Energy America

Eurus Energy America is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eurus Energy Holdings ([ www.eurusenergy.com ]) and is responsible for North American renewable energy investment, now comprising approximately 600 megawatts in wind power generation.Eurus Energy Holdings, owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, is a global developer, owner and operator of renewable energy facilities, including both wind and solar, with more than 1,900 megawatts worldwide. Eurus Energy America, headquartered in San Diego, California, has been active in the renewable energy sector in the United States for over twenty years, beginning operations of its first renewable power projects in California in 1987.

About NRG

NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, owns and operates one of the countrya™s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Companya™s power plants provide more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacitya"enough to supply more than 20 million homes. NRGa™s retail business, Reliant Energy, serves 1.6 million residential, business, commercial and industrial customers in Texas.

NRG Solar is responsible for developing, constructing, financing and operating a multi-technology portfolio of solar power assets in North America. NRG owns the largest operating photovoltaic solar project in California, a 21 MW facility in Blythe. The solar power generated at Blythe alone will displace approximately 27,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annuallya"the equivalent of taking over 4,800 cars off the road.

A past recipient of the energy industrya™s highest honorsa"Platts Industry Leadership and Energy Company of the Year awards, NRG is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of business and environmental organizations calling for mandatory legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More information is available at [ www.nrgenergy.com ].

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include NRGa™s expectations regarding NRGa™s solar development initiatives and forward-looking statements typically can be identified by the use of words such as awill,a aexpect,a abelieve,a and similar terms. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, the inability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes, and our ability to create and maintain successful partnering relationships.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRGa™s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRGa™s future results included in NRGa™s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at [ www.sec.gov ].