7X Energy has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with CoServ Electric and Brazos Electric Power Cooperative to sell electricity produced from its 35MW Lapetus Energy solar project.
The solar project, owned and developed by 7X Energy, will be constructed in Andrews County, Texas, and is scheduled to commence operations in 2019.
Solar energy from the Lapetus facility will be sold in SolarBlocks under a multi-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). SolarBlocks is a power block purchasing strategy developed by 7X, with the support of the Lapetus buyers, that enables customers to procure contractually guaranteed fixed blocks of energy produced from solar plants.
The fixed blocks of solar, which can be forecasted down to the 15-minute settlement interval, lock in low energy rates during peak periods when electricity can be most expensive and remove the intermittent variability of delivered energy associated with traditional solar generation. SolarBlocks can be purchased by electric cooperatives, utilities and corporations in competitive retail electricity markets.
7X Energy CEO Clay Butler said: “The 7X team is working tirelessly to package and deliver reliable clean energy in a way that our customers are accustomed to when purchasing traditional energy.
“For too long our industry has been trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, and we aim to change that by making renewable energy procurement easier for buyers.”
Brazos Electric will be purchasing the energy on behalf of CoServ Electric for the benefit of CoServ’s roughly 220,000 electric meters in North Texas.
This agreement represents the largest solar energy contract to date with an electric cooperative in Texas and was made possible by the low competitive cost of 7X Energy’s solar power in ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas).
CoServ president and CEO Donnie Clary said “We want to provide renewable energy solutions for our Members.
“This project helps enhance our role as a trusted energy advisor, focused on the future and passing along the resulting economic benefits.”
Brazos Electric signed onto the contract as the generation and transmission provider for CoServ, facilitating the transaction among Brazos Electric, CoServ and 7X. Brazos, the oldest and largest generation and transmission cooperative in Texas, worked diligently with CoServ and the 7X team to customize the right energy solution, including the fixed delivery of power for CoServ, its distribution co-op member.
Brazos Electric executive vice president and general manager Clifton Karnei said: “Brazos Electric enjoyed working with 7X Energy in negotiating a solar PPA to procure cost-effective solar power for CoServ and its retail Members.”
CoServ and Brazos Electric were supported in the development of the solar energy contract by the National Renewables Cooperative Organization (NRCO). NRCO provides full origination and development services for its owner-members and electric cooperative customers, with more than one gigawatt of wind and solar projects completed to date, including 45 cooperative-run community solar farms.
Lapetus will be the first large-scale solar facility to be built in Andrews County. During peak construction, the solar facility will bring 75 jobs to the county and inject millions in local property tax revenue over the life of the facility.
Source: Company Press Release