Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power today announced the commercial operation of the 102-megawatt (MW) Lamesa Solar Facility in Dawson County, Texas. With three large-scale solar projects operating in the state, Southern Power owns one of the largest utility-scale solar portfolios in Texas.
“The Lamesa Solar Facility is an important addition to our growing renewable fleet, and we look forward to operating it for the benefit of our customer,” said Southern Power President and CEO Buzz Miller. “By providing clean, affordable, wholesale generation, we are able to deliver on our promise to help build the future of energy.”
Southern Power acquired the facility in July 2016 from Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES), which provided full project EPC services and is serving as the operations and maintenance contractor for the facility.
Located on 887 acres in Dawson County, the facility consists of approximately 410,000 photovoltaic solar panels and is capable of generating enough wholesale generation to help meet the average energy needs of approximately 15,000 Texas homes. The City of Garland, Texas, is purchasing the energy and associated renewable energy credits, which it may keep or sell, under a 15-year power purchase agreement.
With the Lamesa Solar Facility, Southern Power owns more than 1,200 MW of renewable generation across eight wind, solar and biomass facilities in Texas. The Lamesa Solar Facility fits Southern Power’s strategic business model of growing its wholesale business through the acquisition and construction of generating assets substantially covered by long-term contracts with creditworthy counterparties.
Southern Power has announced approximately 3,200 MW of renewable ownership across the U.S. In all, the Southern Company system has added or announced more than 6,500 MW of renewable energy projects since 2012.
