First Solar, Rocky Mountain Power to Deliver Clean Energy for Facebook Data Center
May 30 2019 - 8:00AM
First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced that its Cove
Mountain 2 solar power plant will support Facebook’s Eagle Mountain
Data Center in Utah, through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with
Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp and part of
Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
The 122-megawatt (MW)AC facility will be built
near the town of Enterprise in Iron County, Utah, and is scheduled
to begin operations in 2020. It will be constructed near the 58MWAC
Cove Mountain power plant, which was announced in 2018 and will
also supply renewable energy for Facebook’s operations. Cove
Mountain 2 will supply clean solar energy to Facebook under the
Schedule 34 Renewable Energy Tariff, which enables customers to
work with Rocky Mountain Power to meet their renewable energy goals
by facilitating the construction and contracting of new renewable
energy projects.
“This project is an important part of our
commitment to support all of our data centers and offices with 100
percent renewable energy in 2020,” said Paul Clements, Director of
Energy and Infrastructure at Facebook. “Our data centers are among
the most water- and energy-efficient facilities in the world.
Working with First Solar and Rocky Mountain Power allows us to
ensure that our data center will be supported by new renewable
energy resources – like this solar power plant – in the same
electrical grid as our data center.”
“Rocky Mountain Power continues to develop
creative ways to help individual customers such as Facebook meet
their sustainability goals while keeping rates low and reliability
high for all of our customers. Combining First Solar’s project
development and technology expertise with over a hundred years of
Rocky Mountain Power’s utility experience, allows us to create
value for Facebook by enabling its commitment to support its
operations with 100 percent renewable energy,” said Gary Hoogeveen,
President and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power.
Once operational, Cove Mountain 2 is expected to
generate electricity that is equivalent to the energy needs of
36,000 average Utah homes, while displacing 235,000 metric tons of
Carbon Dioxide annually, equivalent to removing 46,000 cars from
the road. It will also save 800 million liters of water annually,
based on Utah averages.
“Cove Mountain 2 demonstrates the ability of
utility-scale solar to power corporate renewable energy ambitions
effectively,” said Karl Brutsaert, Senior Director of Corporate
Renewables at First Solar. “Combining the commercial and
environmental efficiencies of utility-scale solar with a green
tariff PPA model allows companies like Facebook to meet their
decarbonization commitments while making smart economic decisions.
As a global leader in corporate solar, we’re proud to be a driver
of this trend.”
The project will be powered by high-performance
Series 6 modules, manufactured by First Solar in the United States.
First Solar expects to begin construction in late-2019 and
estimates that Cove Mountain Solar and Cove Mountain 2 Solar will
generate approximately 450 construction jobs on average, and up to
1,100 jobs at the peak of activity.
“Cove Mountain and Cove Mountain 2 demonstrate
Utah’s ability to attract new long-term business partners to the
State through Rocky Mountain Power’s green tariff initiative. Iron
County’s decision to incentivize solar development in portions of
rural Utah has positioned it as a leader in solar energy and will
generate several million dollars in tax revenues for the county,”
said Kathryn Arbeit, Vice President of Project Development for
First Solar. “As an American solar manufacturer, we are proud to be
playing a role in generating jobs and enabling a local resource
pool of professionals skilled in constructing utility-scale solar
power plants here in Utah.”
About First Solar, Inc.First
Solar is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic
(PV) solar systems which use its advanced module and system
technology. The company’s integrated power plant solutions deliver
an economically attractive alternative to fossil-fuel electricity
generation today. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life
module recycling, First Solar’s renewable energy systems protect
and enhance the environment. For more information about First
Solar, please visit www.firstsolar.com.
About Rocky Mountain PowerRocky
Mountain Power is one of the lowest-cost electric utilities in the
United States, providing safe and reliable service to more than 1.1
million customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. As part of
PacifiCorp, the company has more than 11,000 megawatts of
generation from coal, hydroelectric, natural gas and renewable wind
and geothermal power.
For First Solar InvestorsThis
release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant
to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but
are not limited to, statements concerning the development,
construction, and operation of a 122 MWac solar system. These
forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of
words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,”
“plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “forecast,” “foresee,”
“likely,” “may,” “should,” “goal,” “target,” “might,” “will,”
“could,” “predict,” “continue” and the negative or plural of these
words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements
are only predictions based on our current expectations and our
projections about future events and therefore speak only as of the
date of this release. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update
any of these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as
a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results,
levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these statements.
These factors include, but are not limited to, the matters
discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of
Operations” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10- K and our
subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as supplemented
by our other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Contacts
Rocky Mountain Power MediaSpencer Hall+1 (801)
885-5584spencer.hall@pacificorp.com |
First Solar MediaReuven Proença+971 (0)4 4559
410reuven.proenca@firstsolar.com |
|
First Solar Investorsinvestor@firstsolar.com |
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e2f7adee-61f4-4aa0-84de-01fc23ff879a
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