Three Cedars Solar Project

Three Cedars Solar Project is a 210 MWAC (265 MWp) photovoltaic power station consisting of three units extending about 15 miles northwest of Cedar City, Utah. The project was developed by SunEdison, built with its global team of partners, and commissioned in September 2016.[1] The electricity and renewable energy credits are being sold to Rocky Mountain Power under three separate 20-year power purchase agreements.[2][3]

Three Cedars Solar Project
Iron Springs Unit
CountryUnited States
LocationIron County
Coordinates37°43′16″N 113°09′06″W
StatusOperational
Construction beganSeptember 2015
Commission dateSeptember 2016
Construction cost$400 million
Owner(s)Dominion Renewable Energy
Operator(s)Swinerton Renewable Energy
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
single-axis tracking
Site area1,600 acres (6.47 km2)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity265 MWp, 210 MWAC
Capacity factor29.5% (average 2017-2019)
Annual net output543 GW·h, 340 MW·h/acre
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
Three Cedars Solar Project, Iron Springs Unit

Project details

The project consists of three separate units distributed on private land along the headwaters of Iron Springs Creek at a sunny and cool elevation near 6,000 feet.[4][5]

Three Cedars Solar Project
Unit Capacity
MWAC		 Complete
Date		 Coordinates Site Area
(approx)
Iron Springs80 MWJuly 201637°43′16″N 113°09′06″W600 acres
Granite Mountain East80 MWOctober 201637°46′30″N 113°13′35″W600 acres
Granite Mountain West50.4 MWOctober 201637°47′08″N 113°16′43″W400 acres

Planning was initiated by the independent renewable energy developer First Wind (founded 2002) which began expanding into photovoltaic energy around 2012.[6] First Wind and its extensive portfolio of assets in western Utah were acquired by SunEdison and its TerraForm Power yield co in November 2014.[7] Beginning construction at the time was the 20.2 MW Seven Sisters Project, a dispersed set of ~3 MW facilities throughout Beaver and Iron counties.[8][9]

To finance the construction of Three Cedars, SunEdison entered into a joint venture with Dominion Resources. The resulting entity, Dominion Renewable Energy, utilized $80 million from SunEdison and $320 million from Dominion to start construction in September 2015.[2] The two companies also previously entered a joint venture to construct the 320 MW Four Brothers Project, which includes the three co-located 80 MW Escalante units in Beaver County and the 80 MW Enterprise unit in Iron County, on about the same timeline.[10]

Construction of Three Cedars progressed simultaneously at all three sites, created an estimated 250 local construction jobs, and was completed by October 2016.[1][4] Along with the electricity to power more than 36,000 homes, it is expected to produce $17 million in property and income taxes for the region over 20 years.[2][5] The project is operated and maintained by Swinerton Renewable Energy.[11]

SunEdison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 21, 2016, but was able to complete the project on time with its receipt of $300 million in bankruptcy debt financing.[12] On September 13, 2016 the company was forced to sell its stake in the completed facilities in a fire sale. NRG Energy was the successful bidder.[13]

Electricity production
Total Facility Generation
(Annual Sum from All Units Below)
YearTotal Annual MW·h
2016 196,000
2017 548,663
2018 543,454
2019 537,739
Average (2017-2019) 543,285
Generation (MW·h) of Iron Springs Solar - (80 MW unit) [14]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2016 15,99022,10120,38619,17915,63012,3918,799 114,476
2017 8,56412,65518,95220,81524,80927,12320,20819,36717,31218,20912,52711,465 212,005
2018 10,98712,92116,70820,24923,33425,07621,85721,82220,97415,64012,8929,334 211,796
2019 10,82911,41116,99920,01221,30523,96422,68323,09119,06118,73611,6458,488 208,224
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) --->210,675
Generation (MW·h) of Granite Mountain Solar East - (80 MW unit) [15]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2016 12,6339,21613,37412,1388,436 55,797
2017 8,43012,45718,65620,48924,42126,69919,89119,06417,04117,92412,33111,285 208,687
2018 10,79512,69516,41619,89522,92624,63821,47521,44120,60715,36612,6669,171 208,091
2019 10,61411,18416,66019,61320,88123,48722,23122,63118,68118,36311,4138,319 204,075
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) --->206,951
Generation (MW·h) of Granite Mountain Solar West - (50.4 MW unit) [16]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2016 3,1766,2173,4417,4525,441 25,727
2017 5,1697,63911,44012,56414,97516,37212,19811,69010,45010,9917,5616,920 127,971
2018 6,4107,5389,74811,81413,61414,63012,75212,73212,2379,1257,5225,446 123,567
2019 6,5246,87410,24112,05612,83514,43713,66513,91111,48311,2877,0155,113 125,440
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019) --->125,659

See also

References
  1. "530 MW-AC of solar projects come online in Utah". pv-magazine-usa.com. November 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  2. "SunEdison, Dominion Partner on 265 Megawatt, Three Cedars Solar Project in Utah". PR Newswire. September 8, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  3. "EIA Electricity Data Browser - Utah". eia.gov. US Energy Information Administration. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  4. "Utah Solar Projects". Dominion Energy. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. Brian Maffly (December 11, 2015). "Utah's first utility-scale solar goes online". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. "First Wind, Rocky Mountain Power Agree PPA for 'Four Brothers' Solar Development". solarbuildermag.com. June 19, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  7. "SunEdison, TerraForm Buy First Wind for $2.4B to Become Renewable Project Giant". greentechmedia.com. November 17, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  8. "SunEdison Breaks Ground On 22.6 MW Seven Sisters Solar Power Plants In Utah". April 8, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. "Seven Sisters Projects Come to Stellar Completion". November 13, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  10. "SunEdison Partners with Dominion for 420-MW "Four Brothers" PV Project in Utah". energytrend.com. August 13, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  11. "Swinerton Renewable Energy - Projects". Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  12. Bomey, Nathan (April 21, 2016). "SunEdison files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  13. "NRG snatches up 2.1 GW of SunEdison projects". pv-magazine-usa.com. September 13, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  14. "Iron Springs Solar, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  15. "Granite Mountain Solar East, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  16. "Granite Mountain Solar West, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
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