Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Fri, December 10, 2010 NRG Energy Expands Into New Mexico With Roadrunner Solar Project
PRINCETON, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), through its wholly owned subsidiary, NRG Solar, will break ground by year end on the Companya™s first generation site in New Mexico, the Roadrunner Solar Electric Facility, a 20 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar project. Power from the facility will be sold to El Paso Electric Co. (NYSE: EE) under a 20-year power purchase agreement. NRG Solar plans to invest a maximum of $21 million in the project over the next three years, subject to final negotiation of the financing terms and conditions.
"The merits of solar powera"zero-emission, sustainable, coincident with peak demand, compliant with state renewable portfolio standardsa"are clear"
The Roadrunner facility will be one of the first large-scale solar projects built in New Mexico and will be the statea™s second-largest photovoltaic facility when completed in 2011. In addition to helping New Mexico diversify its generation portfolio and meet its renewable energy goals, the project will create as many as 240 construction jobs. At full capacity, the site will be able to meet the energy demands of approximately 16,000 New Mexico families.
aI am pleased that NRG has chosen to expand its solar generation operations to New Mexico,a Governor Bill Richardson said. aMy administration has worked closely with NRG, El Paso Electric and local governments to jumpstart this project which will not only create jobs and help us meet our clean energy goals, but furthers our efforts to become the Solar Valley of North America.a
aThe merits of solar powera"zero-emission, sustainable, coincident with peak demand, compliant with state renewable portfolio standardsa"are clear,a said David Crane, President and CEO of NRG Energy. aNew Mexicoa™s motto, Crescit Eundo, or 'Grows As It Goes,' sums up how we hope to further our partnership with the state to bring more of solar powera™s many benefits to its residents.a
The Roadrunner Solar Electric Facility will be built on a 210-acre privately owned parcel of industrial-zoned land near Santa Teresa, about 10 miles from El Paso, Texas. First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) will provide engineering, construction and procurement services for the project using its advanced thin film photovoltaic solar modules.
aThe agreement with NRG demonstrates our desire to add clean, carbon-free energy to our generation portfolio at a reasonable cost for the benefit of our customers, the environment and the communities we serve,a said David Stevens, El Paso Electric Chief Executive Officer.
Electricity generated at the Roadrunner facility will avoid annual emissions of 27,000 tons of carbon when compared to traditional fossil-fueled generation, or the equivalent of removing 4,800 cars from the road.
NRG Solar is responsible for developing, constructing, financing and operating a multi-technology portfolio of solar power assets in North America. NRG Solar is developing a portfolio of more than 1,000 MW of capacity at sites with strong solar resources, potential for long-term power offtake agreements with load-serving entities and established, easily accessible connections to power grids. These projects support NRGa™s commitment to increase its portfolio of low and no carbon generation assets with diverse technologies including new nuclear generation, onshore and offshore wind, biomass projects and a commercial-scale carbon capture project for fossil-fueled generation.
NRG currently operates the largest photovoltaic solar project in California, a 21 MW facility in Blythe. Under a partnership with Eurus Energy America, NRG is building the 45 MW Avenal photovoltaic solar facility in California. NRG is also the lead investor in the Ivanpah Solar Generating Facility, the worlda™s largest solar thermal project.
About NRG Solar
NRG Solar is a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 Index company that owns and operates one of the countrya™s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Companya™s power plants providenearly 26,000 megawatts of generation capacitya"enough to supply nearly 21 million homes. NRGa™s retail businesses, Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy Company, combined serve more than 1.8 million residential, business, commercial and industrial customers. With investments in solar, wind and nuclear power, as well as electric vehicle infrastructure, NRG is working to help America transition to a clean energy economy. 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 the Roadrunner Solar Electric Facility 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 access financing arrangements, the inability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes, 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 ].
