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Comanche Solar Project
Photovoltaic power station

The Comanche Solar Project is a 120 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station near the city of Pueblo, Colorado. It became the largest solar facility in the state when it came online in late 2016. The electricity is being sold to Public Service of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Xcel determined through an open bid process that the PPA's terms were competitive with natural gas.

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Construction details

The project occupies a total of about 900 acres split into two parcels that are adjacent to the coal-fired Comanche Generating Station; thus providing access to existing high-capacity substation and transmission infrastructure. It uses 502,056 Trina Solar polycrystalline silicon panels that are mounted in rows and onto single-axis trackers.45 The rows are organized into 75 blocks, and the electricity produced from each block is connected to the electric grid through an inverter built by TMEIC.6

In early 2015, SunEdison awarded an EPC contract for the project to Renewable Energy Systems (RES) of Broomfield.7 Work at the site began in August and proceeded through the winter months, with most balance of system (BOS) construction activities completed by April 2016.8 The panel installation, electrical integration, and acceptance testing proceeded through the summer, enabling the start of commercial operations in September.9 The completed facility is operated and maintained by Swinerton Renewable Energy.10

Development and ownership history

The project was originated by Community Energy, which completed many of the initial negotiations such as the grid integration strategy, land leases, and required permits.11 SunEdison announced its acquisition of the project in July 2014 concurrent with the results of Xcel's open solicitation/competitive bid process.12 In August, SunEdison announced its strategy to finance the $253 million Comanche project using a novel special purpose vehicle named "First Reserve".1314 As designed with its partner Everstream Capital Management, this funding mechanism - a special type of warehouse - would expand to meet demand from new investors as Comanche (and future projects) moved into construction, thus reducing the need for incremental equity contributions by SunEdison while preserving a first right of call provision for its TerraForm Power yield co.151617

With all requirements in place, the start of construction was announced in August 2015.18 Most BOS work was complete by the time that SunEdison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 21, 2016.19 Nevertheless, work at Comanche and other SunEdison projects continued unabated due to the company's receipt of $300 million in bankruptcy debt financing.20 On May 16, 2017 Novatus Energy announced its purchase of the operating Comanche facility, although terms were not disclosed.212223

Electricity production

Generation (MW·h) of Comanche Solar 24
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
201629,33523,88917,64713,72184,592
201711,46617,86224,99127,58632,52235,24530,57025,58221,42925,37616,18816,621285,438
201815,45218,17223,49828,47732,81635,26630,73930,69029,49721,99518,13113,127297,860
201915,12515,93723,74227,95029,75633,47031,68132,25126,62226,16816,26411,855290,821
202016,77117,11226,62828,53333,98632,28531,23529,45126,49219,13116,89812,209290,731
202113,37011,61818,12421,09821,31129,67833,75830,274
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2020) --->291,122

See also

  • United States portal
  • Renewable energy portal

References

  1. "Pueblo Solar Power - Renewable Energy Systems has wrapped up construction of the largest solar facility in Colorado". altenerg.com. September 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.altenerg.com/back_issues/story.php?sid=945 ↩

  2. "Coming soon: The biggest solar farm east of the Rocky Mountains". fortune.com. August 20, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://fortune.com/2015/08/20/comanche-solar-project/ ↩

  3. "SunEdison acquires Comanche Solar project from Community Energy". renewable-technology.com. July 24, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.renewable-technology.com/uncategorised/newssunedison-acquires-comanche-solar-project-from-community-energy-4327263/ ↩

  4. "Swinerton - Comanche". swinertonrenewable.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://staging.swinertonrenewable.com/projects/comanche ↩

  5. "Novatus - Comanche". novatusenergy.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019. https://www.novatusenergy.com/solar-project/comanche-solar-project/ ↩

  6. "Pueblo Solar Power - Renewable Energy Systems has wrapped up construction of the largest solar facility in Colorado". altenerg.com. September 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.altenerg.com/back_issues/story.php?sid=945 ↩

  7. "RES Selected to Construct Comanche Solar Project". prnewswire.com. August 20, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/res-selected-to-construct-comanche-solar-project-300131317.html ↩

  8. "Pueblo Solar Power - Renewable Energy Systems has wrapped up construction of the largest solar facility in Colorado". altenerg.com. September 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.altenerg.com/back_issues/story.php?sid=945 ↩

  9. "Comanche Solar, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 8, 2021. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/59656/?freq=M&pin= ↩

  10. "Swinerton - Comanche". swinertonrenewable.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://staging.swinertonrenewable.com/projects/comanche ↩

  11. "Community Energy's 120 MW Comanche Solar Project Provides Bulk of Solar Power in Approved Xcel Energy Resource Plan". communityenergysolar.com. March 4, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://communityenergysolar.com/community-energys-120-mw-comanche-solar-project/ ↩

  12. "SunEdison acquires Comanche Solar project from Community Energy". renewable-technology.com. July 24, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.renewable-technology.com/uncategorised/newssunedison-acquires-comanche-solar-project-from-community-energy-4327263/ ↩

  13. "SunEdison Closes $253 Million of Financing, Breaks Ground on 156 Megawatt Solar Project in Colorado". prnewswire.com. August 20, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunedison-closes-253-million-of-financing-breaks-ground-on-156-megawatt-solar-project-in-colorado-300131207.html ↩

  14. "SunEdison Turns To 'Warehouse' To Fund Comanche Solar And Other Large-Scale Projects". solarindustrymag.com. August 25, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://solarindustrymag.com/sunedison-turns-to-warehouse-to-fund-comanche-solar-and-other-large-scale-projects/ ↩

  15. "Pueblo Solar Power - Renewable Energy Systems has wrapped up construction of the largest solar facility in Colorado". altenerg.com. September 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.altenerg.com/back_issues/story.php?sid=945 ↩

  16. "Everstream Capital Management - Comanche". everstreamcapital.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://everstreamcapital.com/investments/#anchor-comanche-project ↩

  17. "Warehouse 8K". sec.gov. May 6, 2015. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/945436/000094543615000119/a8-kwarehouse.htm ↩

  18. "RES Selected to Construct Comanche Solar Project". prnewswire.com. August 20, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/res-selected-to-construct-comanche-solar-project-300131317.html ↩

  19. "Pueblo Solar Power - Renewable Energy Systems has wrapped up construction of the largest solar facility in Colorado". altenerg.com. September 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://www.altenerg.com/back_issues/story.php?sid=945 ↩

  20. Bomey, Nathan (April 21, 2016). "SunEdison files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 3, 2019. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/04/21/sunedison-chapter-11-bankruptcy/83329928/ ↩

  21. "Novatus Energy acquires the 156 MW Comanche solar project in Colorado". novatusenergy.com. May 16, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2019. https://www.novatusenergy.com/novatus-energy-acquires-the-156-mw-comanche-solar-project-in-colorado/ ↩

  22. "Novatus goes deeper into solar with Colorado's largest plant". pv-magazine-usa.com. May 19, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://pv-magazine-usa.com/2017/05/19/novatus-goes-deeper-into-solar-with-colorados-largest-plant/ ↩

  23. "Novatus to Acquire First Reserve Comanche Project". relationshipscience.com. March 13, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2019. http://relationshipscience.com/News/story/novatus-to-acquire-first-reserve-comanche-project-9844263 ↩

  24. "Comanche Solar, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 8, 2021. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/59656/?freq=M&pin= ↩