BlueChip Energy Signs 10 MW Solar Power Purchase Agreement In Florida

BlueChip Energy, a provider of complete solar power solutions for residential, commercial, government and utility applications, today announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply Progress Energy Florida with renewable solar photovoltaic (PV) power from the Rinehart Solar Farm, a 10 MW utility-scale solar PV facility the company is developing in Central Florida. 

The Rinehart Solar Farm project, located in Lake Mary, Fla., (Orlando) will have a total capacity of 10 megawatts (MW) and an annual generation of approximately 15,000,000 kilowatt-hours. This is equivalent to the annual energy use of roughly 1,100 area homes. It will be the largest solar photovoltaic project in Central Florida.  It will cover a portion of the 380,000 square foot rooftop space and surrounding acreage of BlueChip Energy's Lake Mary facility.

As a renewable energy project, the Rinehart Solar Farm will stimulate the local economy by creating an estimated 100 high-paying, high-skilled green jobs while building local expertise in solar energy. "We expect the Rinehart Solar Farm to serve as a model in the state of Florida for large-scale, alternative-energy projects," commented Lawrence Hefler, spokesman for BlueChip Energy.

The solar farm will be built in stages, starting with a roof top plant totalling 120 kilowatts (kW).  It is currently in the pre-construction planning phase and expected to be completed by the end of July, 2010.  Stage two is a roof top plant consisting of 500 kW.  Subsequent stages will consist of a third, 1.4 MW rooftop system and 8 MW of ground-based systems. Construction of the entire facility is expected to be completed by October 2010.  BCE will build the plant using monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar PV modules and providing its own project development, engineering, procurement, and construction capabilities. The 10 MW of power generated from the solar plant will displace over 9,200 metric tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking nearly 1,700 cars off the road.