Xcel Energy and SunPower Corp. announced today the commercial operation of the 50MW Hooper solar PV power plant in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Xcel Energy is purchasing the power generated by the plant at cost-competitive rates under a power purchase agreement with SunPower. The utility estimates that the plant is generating enough electricity to serve the needs of approximately 13,500 average Colorado homes.
"This expansion of our renewable portfolio in Colorado is yet another example of how Xcel Energy brings solar power to its customers," said David Eves, president of Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company. "We are adding large scale solar that competes with and surpasses other forms of generation alternatives, in terms of price, over the life of the project. This benefits all of our customers - both environmentally and economically."
SunPower designed and constructed the plant, and is now operating and maintaining it onsite, and monitoring power production from the company's remote operations control center in Austin, Tex. More than 150 jobs were created at the project site during peak construction.
"Xcel Energy is providing leadership in the promotion of large scale solar power development, and demonstrating how renewable technologies are part of the solution to ensure the health of our economy and our environment," said Jorg Heinemann, SunPower executive vice president, global power plants, customer operations and EPC. "SunPower's high-efficiency solar PV technology is competitively-priced for power plant applications, fast to install, and reliably delivers clean power, particularly during peak demand hours."
At the 320-acre site, SunPower installed a SunPower® Oasis® Power Plant system.