EDF commissions 179 MW of solar parks in Nevada

EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) on Monday said it has reached commercial operation at 179 MW of solar parks in Nevada, previously owned by First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR).

The Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 plants in Clark County will be generating electricity for commercial data company Switch (NYSE:SWCH), in line with the latter's goal to power all of its facilities with clean energy. The photovoltaic (PV) parks have power purchase agreements with subsidiaries of utility NV Energy.

EDF took possession of the two solar assets from First Solar this summer, when they were still under construction on land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management. The plants are expected to generate enough power to cover the electricity consumption of about 46,000 local households and offset over 265,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.

EDF RE, a subsidiary of the renewables arm of French power group EDF (EPA:EDF), marked its entry into the Nevada solar market through the Switch projects. The company intends to spend USD 3 billion (EUR 2.55bn) between now and 2020 on renewable energy projects in the US, said Cliff Graham, vice president of US development.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.849)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!