rPlus Energies, a Utah-based power plant developer, recently broke ground on Graphite Solar I, a 104 MWdc/80 MWac utility-scale solar project owned by Greenbacker Renewable Energy in Carbon County, Utah. The project will be one of the largest solar plants in Greenbacker’s nationwide portfolio of renewable energy projects and will contribute renewable power to Facebook’s new data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
The Graphite Solar project has a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with the investment-grade utility PacifiCorp on behalf of Facebook. The contract was developed under Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 34 green energy tariff, which allows large customers to purchase renewable energy generated on their behalf.
The project supports Facebook’s goal of 100% renewable energy for its operations and is expected to reach commercial operations in the Q4 2021.
“Large projects like Graphite will increasingly be necessary to meet the electricity needs of the technology economy and provide carbon-neutral alternatives to traditional power sources,” said Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker. “We’re thrilled to play a role in the ongoing positive impact that this sustainable infrastructure project will have on boosting local employment, supporting regional economies, and creating more reliable power grids.”
Graphite is being built in Wellington, Utah, a town with several coal mines and a recently retired coal plant with a long history of generating power for the area. With the construction of this solar facility, the community diversifies its contributions to the local energy infrastructure.
The rPlus Energies team was joined for the groundbreaking by Greenbacker and by Sundt Construction, which will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) lead for the project and will include the installation of more than a quarter-million solar panels.
“rPlus Energies is proud to work with Carbon County, as it continues its legacy in energy development — with Graphite Solar capturing the benefits of solar power in the region for years to come,” said Luigi Resta, CEO, rPlus Energies. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Carbon County community through project construction, with a focus on energizing the economy and local hiring.”
“It has been great to see the Graphite Solar project bringing the community together,” said Tony Martines, Carbon County commissioner, during the groundbreaking ceremony. “With several local companies playing a large part in this endeavor, the project has provided new job opportunities and allowed our community to see energy in a new light.”
Greenbacker purchased the pre-operational solar project from rPlus Energies in December 2020 and contracted rPlus to continue to develop the project through construction.
News item from Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company
Brailey says
My husband worked in a coal mine for 30 years in the Carbon/Emery area. He’s known for a long time that coal was not the energy source of the future. Coal provided a good middle-class life for our family but it’s time to move on. We have plenty of sun to be sure, but I’d like to see an investment in making the solar panels, and possibly providing more than the 50 jobs mentioned by Solarman. I also think we could install solar panels over the vast parking lots we have from the urban sprawl, then it wouldn’t require more land, it’s already being used for parking. There are additional benefits like providing shade for parking and power for local communities, reducing massive grids that put us at risk of terrorists threats or ransomware hostages. Then you have places for electric vehicles to recharge during lunch or while shopping. Sounds like a win/win to me.
Solarman says
“The project supports Facebook’s goal of 100% renewable energy for its operations and is expected to reach commercial operations in the Q4 2021.”
Just wondering how much that “schedule 34 green energy tariff” is making for RMP (aka Berkshire Hathaway).
“Graphite is being built in Wellington, Utah, a town with several coal mines and a recently retired coal plant with a long history of generating power for the area. With the construction of this solar facility, the community diversifies its contributions to the local energy infrastructure.”
This chamber of commerce feels good release with the mention of community, diversifies and contributions doesn’t speak to how this project may need 50 employees after the plant is online. Lost coal mining and generation plant jobs lost hit the region pretty hard, getting 50 open employment positions is not going to dent the damage already done.