The first project will begin installation in April with additional 5MW projects to follow in 2010. The project is being developed in Lake county, Oregon, near Christmas valley by the Obsidian Finance Group (Obsidian) of Portland, Oregon.
Obsidian will manage the project under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with a large Pacific Northwest utility. Engineering, procurement and construction are being handled by Swinerton’s management and consulting office.
The ground mount solar installation will use PV Powered’s new powervault. The powervault is an engineered and factory assembled turnkey inverter power plant with DC inputs on one side and medium voltage outputs on the other.
George Hershman, vice president and division manger of Swinerton Renewable Energy, said: “Swinerton Green is excited to work with PV Powered inverters on the Obsidian projects. Their commitment to long-term reliability and customer service mirror our core values. We expect this to be a very successful project for all stakeholders, the local community, and the environment.”
Gregg Patterson, CEO of PV Powered, said: “We would like to thank Obsidian for making a long-term commitment to PV Powered’s technology. As a result of our commitment to reliability engineering, we have produced a fleet of inverters that has been delivering 99% uptime. And we have been working continuously under the auspices of the US Government-funded SEGIS program to improve the economics and resolve the technical issues associated with bringing utility-scale solar power onto the grid.”
