Sunpin Solar has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Direct Energy to supply clean electricity from its 74.8MW ColGreen North Shore solar power plant.

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Image: The ColGreen North Shore solar power plant is interconnected to the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Utility grid. Photo courtesy of Neville Micallef/Freeimages.com

Sunpin Solar stated that the energy will be supplied to Direct Energy’s retail energy customers in California.  The solar plant, which has been operational since January 2019, is located on 485 acres of land in the city of Mecca, California, near the Salton Sea.

The ColGreen North Shore solar power plant is interconnected to the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Utility grid and has delivery capability into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) territory.

Sunpin Solar president Tom Li said: “California is a very competitive market for utility-scale solar developers, and I am proud of the Sunpin Solar team for the successful implementation of this new innovative Structured PPA with Direct Energy Business. This agreement sets the stage for our plans to build at least another 200 MW of solar in California.”

Equipped with single-axis tracking system, the plant is expected to annually generate more than 210,000MWh of clean electricity, which will be enough to power 22,000 homes.

The solar plant is expected to displace CO2 emissions equal to more than 100,000 acres of trees or the emissions from over 32,000 vehicles driven each year. The power plant also created 425 local jobs during the peak construction period.

Direct Energy Business North America power and gas senior vice president David Brast said: “Energy Service Providers like Direct Energy Business can enable investments in renewables to help California reach its energy policy goals. As California continues to evolve into a competitive energy market, we will work with suppliers like Sunpin Solar to deliver more energy choices for our Direct Access (DA) and Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) customers.

“This renewable energy PPA with Sunpin Solar is an important milestone in this journey and aligns with Centrica’s commitment to provide products and services that lead to a lower carbon future.”

Earlier this month, Direct Energy partnered with Budweiser Canada to supply 100% renewable electricity to brew its alcoholic beverages.