SRP agrees to buy more power from Arizona’s largest proposed solar facility
Salt River Project has increased the amount of power it plans to purchase from a massive solar project north of Flagstaff being financed by an Israeli energy conglomerate.
SRP announced Monday that the nonprofit energy utility company has signed an agreement to purchase 394 megawatts of power from the CO Bar Solar project in northern Arizona, which will be operated by renewable energy company Clenera, based in Boise, Idaho. That’s on top of the 400 megawatts that SRP already agreed months ago to buy from the project.
The two deals mean the project will provide SRP enough energy to power about 180,000 typical homes.
“This is not only the largest solar plant in Arizona and one of the largest in the United States, but it will also be the most significant solar resource in SRP’s energy portfolio,” said Jim Pratt, CEO of SRP, in a statement. “SRP will be quadrupling the amount of utility-scale solar on our power system in just the next two years, with CO Bar Solar as a key part of this. Nearly half of all energy delivered to SRP customers will come from carbon-free resources by the end of 2025.”
The 1.2-gigawatt CO Bar solar and storage complex is in development now for up to 2,400 acres of private Babbitt Ranches property in Coconino County. It is expected to be Arizona’s largest solar plant — and one of the largest in the U.S. — when it opens.
Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, creating about 550 construction jobs, with commercial production rolling out in 2025.
Clenera, the developer of the project, is a subsidiary of Enlight Co. (Nasdaq: ENLT), which is headquartered in Israel.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with SRP again on CO Bar Solar and providing them with reliable, clean energy,” said Gilad Yavetz, CEO of Enlight. “CO Bar represents a strategic project in Arizona, serving as a prime example of our approach to greenfield development that capitalizes on sizable interconnection positions.”
In the same area as the solar plant, the 161-megawatt Babbitt Ranch Energy Center — a wind energy facility that will include 50 turbines — will also be proving renewable energy for SRP. NextEra Energy Resources LLC started construction on that project last spring.
SRP serves more than a million customers, primarily in and around the Valley.