EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), a leading renewable
energy developer and a top five renewable energy owner and operator
in the United States, proudly unveiled its Scarlet I Solar Energy
Park (Scarlet I) in Fresno County, California today during a ribbon
cutting hosting dozens of dignitaries and industry partners. The
200 megawatt (MW) project, which also includes a 40 MW battery
energy storage system (BESS), will generate enough energy to power
the equivalent of 68,000 average California homes each year.
Scarlet I has two executed power purchase agreements (PPAs),
which were announced previously, with Ava Community Energy
(previously known as East Bay Community Energy) for 100 MW of solar
and 30 MW of BESS and with San José Clean Energy (SJCE) for
100 MW of solar and 10 MW of BESS. This newest solar + storage
facility builds upon EDPR NA’s existing 248 MW operational
footprint in California.
The Solar Energy Park supported the creation of more than 230
construction jobs and five permanent positions dedicated to ongoing
operations and routine maintenance. Scarlet I will invest millions
of dollars in small businesses and the local economy over the next
several decades.
“We’re excited for the commencement of Scarlet I as it plays a
key role in Ava achieving our goal of providing 100% carbon-free
electricity to all customers by 2030,” added Howard Chang, CEO of
Ava Community Energy. “Working with EDPR NA ensured that our
investment in renewables - and making it easy for our customers to
transition to clean and reliable energy while saving on monthly
energy bills – is happening.”
“This project will help us keep our commitment to
providing clean energy for residents and businesses at
competitive rates, while also offering community programs, local
control, and more transparency and accessibility,”
noted Lori Mitchell,
Director, San José Clean Energy. “In sourcing
and building clean and affordable renewables, we’re committed to
advancing a more reliable and sustainable power grid for
California.”
Scarlet I will be aiding the region’s water efficiency
goals, with the project estimated to save more than 254 million
gallons of water each year that would have otherwise been consumed
by conventional generation sources for equivalent energy capacity.
In a nod towards advancing agrivoltaics - the dual use of land
for solar energy production and agriculture - the project is
actively exploring possibilities for sheep grazing on site
following a recent trial run, utilizing locally sourced sheep.
EDPR NA’s commitment to Fresno County has remained strong, with
the company being a proud member of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce
and Economic Development Corporation and engaging the local
community through sponsorship of the 2023 State of the County event
and the 2023 Fresno County Fair.
“California remains a priority state for EDPR NA’s development
efforts, and we are pleased to finalize this significant solar +
storage project in The Golden State,” stated Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO
of EDP Renewables North America. “Scarlet I will be a benchmark
project as we look to develop additional hybrid multi-technology
renewable projects across our portfolio and contribute further to
grid resiliency.”
EDPR NA is a key renewable energy leader in California. The
company’s operational footprint of 248 MW is spread across three
phases of the Rising Tree Wind Farm in Kern County, two phases of
the Lone Valley Solar Park in San Bernardino County, and the
Windhub A Solar Park in Kern County. EDPR NA also has several
additional California projects in late-stage development including
the 200 MW Scarlet II Solar Energy Park, which also includes 150 MW
of BESS, and the 300 MW Sandrini Solar Park located in Kern
County.
Multimedia resources include:
- EDPR NA in California: Fact Sheet
- EDPR NA Scarlet Solar Energy Park: Fact Sheet
- Solar Power in North America: Video
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About EDP Renewables North America
EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), its affiliates, and
its subsidiaries develop, construct, own, and operate wind farms,
solar parks, and energy storage systems throughout North America.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with 61 wind farms, 17 solar
parks, and eight regional offices across North America, EDPR NA has
developed more than 11,000 megawatts (MW) and operates more than
10,000 MW of onshore utility-scale renewable energy projects. With
more than 1,000 employees, EDPR NA’s highly qualified team has a
proven capacity to execute projects across the continent.
For more information, visit www.edpr.com/north-america and
follow us on LinkedIn.
About EDP Renewables
EDP Renewables (Euronext: EDPR) is a global leader in renewable
energy development with a presence in 28 regions in Europe, North
America, South America and Asia-Pacific. With headquarters in
Madrid and leading regional offices in Houston, São Paulo and
Singapore, EDPR has a sound development portfolio of top-level
assets and market-leading operating capacity in renewable energies.
Particularly worthy of note are onshore wind, distributed and
large-scale solar, offshore wind (OW - through a 50/50 joint
venture), and technologies to complement renewables such as storage
and green hydrogen.
EDPR's employee-centered policies have received recognition such
as Top Workplace 2023 in the USA, Top Employer 2023 in Europe
(Spain, Italy, France, Romania, Greece, Portugal and Poland)
Colombia and Brazil, and are also included in the Bloomberg
Gender-Equality Index.
EDPR is a division of EDP (Euronext: EDP), a leader in the
energy transition with a focus on decarbonization. Besides its
strong presence in renewables (with EDPR and hydro operations), EDP
has an integrated utility presence in Portugal, Spain and Brazil
including electricity networks, client solutions and energy
management.
EDP – EDPR’s main shareholder – has been listed on the Dow Jones
Index for 16 consecutive years, recently being named the most
sustainable electricity company on the Index.
About Ava Community Energy (Ava)
Ava Community Energy (Ava), formerly East Bay Community Energy
(EBCE), is the not-for-profit public power provider for more than
1.7 million residents and commercial customers in Alameda County
and the City of Tracy, with service extending to the San Joaquin
County cities of Stockton and Lathrop in 2025. Ava is committed to
creating a brighter future in our communities and beyond by
providing clean power at competitive rates, reinvesting in our
member communities, and developing programs that make it easy for
customers to discover, try and adopt clean energy solutions. To
date, Ava has saved customers more than $100 million and contracted
for more than one gigawatt of renewable energy projects.
For more information about Ava Community Energy, visit
avaenergy.org.
About San José Clean Energy (SJCE)
San José Clean Energy (SJCE) is the local, not-for-profit
electricity generation provider for homes and businesses in the
City of San José. SJCE is operated by the City’s Energy Department
and governed by the City Council. SJCE provides over 350,000
customer accounts with clean energy at competitive rates plus the
additional benefits of customer choice, community programs, local
control, transparency, and accountability. For more information,
please visit www.SanJoseCleanEnergy.org.
Follow SJCE on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn
@SJCleanEnergy.
- Scarlet I Solar Energy Ribbon Cutting
Tom Weirich
EDP Renewables
281-825-2771
thomas.weirich@edp.com
Dan Lieberman
Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy)
925-579-1591
dlieberman@avaenergy.org