First project to deliver clean energy to California residents through PG&E’s Solar Choice Program
FOLSOM and BAKERSFIELD, CA – 8minutenergy Renewables, LLC (“8minutenergy”), the largest independent solar developer in the U.S., today celebrated a ribbon-cutting event for its 26 MW-dc (20 MW-ac) Redwood 4 Solar Farm located in Kern County, California. Project construction began in mid-September 2017, and the site was commissioned in December of the same year.
Redwood 4 is the first operational project to serve as a dedicated resource for Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E’s) Solar Choice program, providing clean energy for California residents. PG&E’s Solar Choice program offers Northern and Central California residents and businesses the option to go solar without installing panels by purchasing their electricity from solar energy generated from projects such as this.
“We are proud to celebrate the completion of Redwood 4, and to help deliver clean energy options to PG&E’s customers,” said Martin Hermann, 8minutenergy’s CEO and Founder. “8minutenergy’s heritage is in California, and we are building some of the world’s largest solar farms here. Today is another landmark achievement as we complete the final installation in our 100 MW Redwood solar cluster.”
“Redwood 4 is a testament to our rigorous greenfield development approach, and we are thrilled to have financed, constructed, and completed the project in record time,” said 8minutenergy President and Co-Founder, Tom Buttgenbach. “We thank all of our partners and team for their hard work and support to reach this milestone.”
Swinerton Renewable Energy served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for Redwood 4. REC Group supplied the solar panels for the project, and NEXTracker provided their smart solar tracking solution.
8minutenergy’s three other projects in the 100 MW Redwood solar cluster have been operational since the end of 2015. The projects will have a combined annual production capacity of over 200 million kilowatt hours (kWh) once complete, enough energy for more than 30,390 homes, and will reduce carbon emissions by more than 152,000 metric tons each year. 8minutenergy is maintaining their ownership of Redwood 4.
Source: 8minutenergy
