SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWRA; SPWRB) announced an agreement with Iberdrola Renewables (IBR.MC) for a 30-megawatts (MW) photovoltaic solar power plant on 216 acres of private, former agricultural land in Colorado's Alamosa County.
The San Luis Valley Solar Ranch is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2011, construction will begin this year and create approximately 100 solar jobs.
Iberdrola Renewables is developing the power plant, and will own and operate it. The company will sell the electricity under a long term contract to Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL), for distribution on the region's utility grid.
The plant will use SunPower E19 solar panels mounted on SunPower® Tracker systems. SunPower Trackers tilt the solar panels toward the sun as it moves across the sky, increasing energy capture and providing more power on hot summer days.
SunPower has more than 600 megawatts of large solar power systems installed or under contract.
