The US arm of German developer Juwi is to supply electricity from the 175MW Pike solar farm combined with 25MW of energy storage to Colorado Springs Utilities under a 17-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
The project, which is located in El Paso County in the US state of Colorado, is slated for completion in 2023.
It will comprise more than 400,000 photovoltaic panels and generate enough energy to power more than 55,000 homes a year.
After adding Pike Solar to the existing solar, wind and hydro resources, renewable energy is estimated to represent 27% of Colorado Springs Utilities’ energy portfolio.
Springs Utilities chief executive Aram Benyamin said: “This new agreement is exciting for Colorado Springs Utilities as we lead the way for battery storage in the state.
“The additional solar we will bring online will help diversify our energy mix and help us reach our Energy Vision goal of achieving 80% carbon reduction by 2030.”
Juwi US chief executive Michael Martin said: “After reaching commercial operation on Palmer Solar earlier this year, juwi is pleased to strengthen its relationship with Colorado Springs Utilities by building the Pike Solar and Storage project.
“We are excited to deliver a substantial piece of Colorado Springs Utilities’ forward-looking energy strategy.”
Pike is the second solar project that Juwi and Colorado Springs Utilities have worked on together.
The first project, Palmer Solar, is a 60MW facility and is currently the largest solar project on Colorado Springs Utilities’ system.