Phoebe solar project is a 315MW photovoltaic (PV) solar farm being developed in the Winkler Country of Texas, US.
Construction on the $397m project started in July 2018, while commissioning is expected to be completed in the second half of 2019.
Phoebe will be the biggest solar farm in Texas and one of the ten biggest solar PV farms in the US, upon completion.
The Phoebe solar project was originally undertaken by 7X Energy and Longroad Energy. Innergex Renewable Energy, an independent renewable power producer based in Canada, acquired the project from Longroad Energy in July 2018.
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Longroad Energy continues to assist Innergex Renewable Energy in the construction management of the solar farm.
Phoebe solar project development history
7X Energy, an utility-scale solar developer based in the US, originally owned the Phoebe solar project, which was later bought by Longroad Energy, another US-based renewable energy developer, in late-2016.
7X Energy was, however, retained as a joint developer of the project alongside Longroad Energy.
Phoebe solar project financing
The Phoebe solar project achieved financial closure in July 2018. Longroad Energy arranged debt financing of $292m from a consortium of banks, while Innergex Renewable Energy, the current owner of the project, agreed to provide $105m of equity investment.
Phoebe solar farm make-up
Being built on a 1,900ha-project site in the Winkler Country, the Phoebe solar farm will consist of approximately 732,500 First Solar Series 6 PV modules mounted on single-axis trackers.
Each First Solar Series 6 thin-film module utilizes up to 264 Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) semi-conductor cells sandwiched between 2.8mm front glass and 2.2mm back glass.
The modules come with innovative under-mount frame design to enable simple and fast installation as well as easy cleaning and snow-shedding. The frame material for the modules is anodized aluminum.
Occupying an area of 2.47m², each module will measure approximately 2m-long, 1.2m-wide, and 49mm-thick and weighs 36kg.
Each module is designed to provide a nominal power output of more than 420W, which is up to eight percent higher than that of conventional crystalline silicon solar modules.
The First Solar Series 6 thin-film modules are offered with 25-year linear performance warranty.
Power purchase agreement
Shell Energy North America will purchase 89% of the Phoebe solar farm’s annual electricity generation under a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The remaining 11% will be sold in the merchant market.
Benefits of Phoebe solar project
The Phoebe solar farm will produce approximately 738,000MWh of clean renewable energy a year, which is equivalent to the annual energy demands of approximately 53,000 average US households.
The electricity generated by the solar farm will offset greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 75,000 cars.
Contractors involved with the Phoebe solar project
First Solar is the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the Phoebe solar project.
First Solar will provide approximately 732,500 Series 6 thin-film PV modules for the project. It will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the solar farm for a period of five years, as part of the contract.