Salt Lake City — Rocky Mountain Power announced the addition of a new solar energy project to be built in Iron County on behalf of Facebook for its data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
The Appaloosa solar project will be 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 represents 120 megawatts of additional solar capacity in Utah and brings the total amount of in-state solar energy signed to support Facebook’s regional data centers to 814 megawatts – equivalent to 53 percent of the current net summer capacity of solar generation in Utah per Energy Information Administration estimates. These projects support Facebook’s 100 percent renewable energy goal for its global operations.
“Utah has been a great home for our data center, and we are proud to help add new solar energy to the electrical grid,” says Urvi Parekh, Head of Renewable Energy at Facebook. “Our goal is to continue to support all of our operations with 100 percent renewable energy and this partnership with rPlus Energies and Rocky Mountain Power helps us achieve that.”
The project will be developed in Iron County by rPlus Energies. It is scheduled to be in service at the end of 2023 and will provide ongoing tax benefits for Iron County.
“We look forward to helping Rocky Mountain Power and Facebook tap both the excellent solar capacity and talent available in Iron County,” says Luigi Resta, rPlus Energies CEO. “Our team is proud of our history in Iron County, helping to diversify and modernize the county’s energy mix through utility-scale solar development. We look forward to continuing to work with the community through project construction, with a focus on energizing the economy through local hiring and local subcontractors.”
“We are very pleased to see this Appaloosa Solar project moving closer toward construction to capture the valuable solar energy available in Iron County,” says Reed Erickson, Iron County planner. “Collaborative solar development projects, like Appaloosa Solar, benefit our citizens in many positive ways and we recognize the significant contributions made to our community by the solar industry.”
In addition to projects built under Schedule 34, PacifiCorp’s latest integrated resource plan will expand its low-cost renewable energy portfolio for all customers. PacifiCorp’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan outlined the company’s plans to add nearly 3,250 megawatts of new, low-cost clean energy resources including solar, wind, batteries and transmission to interconnect those resources to PacifiCorp’s multi-state grid. This month the company filed a shortlist of bids resulting from last year’s request for proposals for those energy projects, which was the largest request in company history.
“We appreciate the opportunity to work with valued customers like Facebook in helping to provide solutions to meet renewable energy goals,” says Michael Lange, Rocky Mountain Power regional business manager. “We look forward to our continued partnership and future collaboration.”
About Rocky Mountain Power
Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, provides safe and reliable electric service to more than a million customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Rocky Mountain Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity providers in the United States serving nearly two million customers in six western states as the largest regulated utility owner of wind power in the West. For more information, visit www.rockymountainpower.net.
About rPlus Energies
rPlus Energies develops modern power plants to contribute to the rebuilding of America’s energy infrastructure. Through partnership with the private sector, municipalities, and utilities, rPlus develops utility-scale power plants to access a region’s best mix of renewable resources to enable a more dispatchable and reliable power supply. rPlus Energies currently has 35 projects in 18 states in active development including solar, wind, pumped-hydro, and solar plus battery. rPlus Energies is a subsidiary of The Gardner Companies, family-owned and operated since 1976, which is dedicated to building better communities through thoughtful, sustainable practices in developing and managing real estate, renewable energy, and technology, and providing results-oriented philanthropy. Learn more at www.rplusenergies.com