NCMPA1, which serves the city of Shelby, will buy all of the output from the 1MW Shelby Solar project under the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement with Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS).
NCMPA1 will also receive all associated renewable energy credits (RECs) from the project. These RECs help the power agency meet the North Carolina renewable energy and energy efficiency portfolio standard requirement to obtain 0.2% of its energy through solar resources by 2018.
Graham Edwards, CEO of ElectriCities, the management services organization for NCMPA1, said: “This agreement is a great start to the development of our solar resource portfolio. Solar power is a great complement to our existing power supply portfolio, providing peak power during the daylight hours, while also helping to maintain our very small carbon footprint.”
The city of Shelby is providing the land for the project, which will be located near the Shelby-Cleveland county regional airport. The Shelby city council has approved leasing the 10-acre site for the project.
DEGS acquired the project from SunPower, a manufacturer of solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, which designed and is installing the PV system at the Shelby site. The project, which will consist of 4,500 ground-mounted crystalline silicon panels, will use SunPower Tracker technology.
The Shelby solar project is expected to be completed and energized by late May 2010. The facility’s 1MW direct current output – equivalent to 0.94MW alternating current – will generate enough electricity to power approximately 140 homes on an annual basis.
