Lightsource BP has commissioned a 300MW solar farm in Colorado, US.
Construction outfit McCarthy Building Companies recently completed construction and commissioning of the 300MW Bighorn Solar project working with Lightsource BP.
Bighorn is the first of two large-scale solar projects that McCarthy’s renewable energy and storage group is building in the area in conjunction with Lightsource BP.
Bighorn is the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single customer in the country and supports the nation’s first solar powered steel mill.
Completion of this project also means that steelmaker EVRAZ will have access to cost effective and predictable electricity rates that help ensure the mill, with its thousand local workers is able to and grow.
To enhance biodiversity at Bighorn, McCarthy and Lightsource BP designed a site-specific seed mix, suited to the local climate, ecosystem and soil.
The mix contains staple short grasses like western wheatgrass, buffalo grass and little bluestem, as well as a low concentration of purple prairie clover to provide nectar for pollinating insects to help conserve the important habitat of the site over the life of the project.
“The Bighorn Solar project was amazing from start to finish,” said Justin Peterson, vice president of operations for McCarthy’s Colorado office.
“Not only were we able to help deliver reliable clean energy in support of Colorado’s push to renewables but we also brought in hundreds of new jobs – career-starters, really – to the area.
“Layer all of that with the commitment to minimise the disturbance to the area’s important grassland ecosystem and what results is a win-win-win for the community as a whole.”
McCarthy and Lightsource BP will continue their collaboration to build the Sun Mountain Solar project now underway in Pueblo, set to be among the largest solar projects to date in Colorado.