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NRG Solar Begins Operations at New Mexicoa?s Roadrunner Facility

^{Published on 2011-08-31 11:26:57 - Market Wire}
 

PRINCETON, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--NRG Solar, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), started producing electricity at its 20-megawatt (MW) Roadrunner Solar Generating Facility, the second-largest photovoltaic (PV) project in the state of New Mexico. It is the third large-scale solar generation plant NRG has brought online and the Companya™s first outside California.

"On the heels of our recent commencement of operations at the Avenal Solar Generating Facility in California we now have our first solar facility operating in New Mexico, signaling that our diligent labors last year are starting to bear fruit"

The Roadrunner facility created more than 200 jobs during its construction over the past nine months and now will generate enough renewable power to supply thousands of homes when operating at full capacity. First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) provided engineering, construction and procurement services for the project using its advanced thin film photovoltaic solar modules, and will also be the operations and maintenance contractor for the facility.

aOn the heels of our recent commencement of operations at the Avenal Solar Generating Facility in California we now have our first solar facility operating in New Mexico, signaling that our diligent labors last year are starting to bear fruit,a said Tom Doyle, President of NRG Solar and NRGa™s West Region. aWe celebrate this milestone with our customers and business partners in New Mexico, where our facility will help harness the statea™s plentiful solar resources to meet its renewable energy goals.a

The Roadrunner facility uses First Solara™s advanced thin-film modules mounted on single-axis trackers. The system rotates the PV solar panels to follow the sun throughout the day, increasing electricity production compared with a fixed tilt installation.

The facility is located on a 210-acre privately owned parcel of industrial-zoned land near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 10 miles from El Paso, Texas. Cost-competitive, renewable power generated by the Roadrunner facility will be sold to El Paso Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

About NRG and NRG Solar

NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 Index 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 providemore than 25,000 megawatts of generation capacitya"enough to supply approximately 20 million homes. NRGa™s retail businessesa" Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy Companya"serve nearly 1.9 million residential, business, commercial and industrial customers.

NRG Solar LLC, a subsidiary of NRG, has more than 2,000 MW of photovoltaic and solar thermal projects under development or in construction across the southwestern United States. With major investments in solar and wind 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 ] and [ www.nrgsolarenergy.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 Project 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 other 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 ].

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