Lightsource bp and AEP Energy Partners Sign Power Contract for 188 Megawatt Solar Farm in Indiana
February 23 2023 - 1:30PM
Business Wire
- Estimated to abate 204,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions each year, equivalent to annual emissions from
about 44,000 fuel burning cars
- Will stimulate local economy by bringing an estimated $30
million in new revenue to the community, along with creating
approximately 200 construction jobs
Global solar leader Lightsource bp and AEP Energy Partners
(AEPEP), a subsidiary of American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) and
one of the largest wholesale energy suppliers in the country, have
signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 188 megawatt (dc)
solar project located in New Carlisle about 10 miles west of South
Bend, Indiana.
Once complete, the Honeysuckle Solar project will generate
enough clean energy annually to power 27,000 U.S. homes and will
reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 204,000 metric tons each
year.
“AEP Energy Partners is proud to provide customers with
integrated, carbon-free energy that fulfills their sustainability
goals, delivers long-term price stability, and benefits the
environment. Our partnership with Lightsource bp demonstrates our
commitment to the development of new renewable resources that both
empower local communities and support a cleaner, brighter energy
future,” said Greg Hall, Executive Vice President & Chief
Commercial Officer, AEP.
Lightsource bp will finance, build, own and operate the facility
and sell the solar energy it generates to AEP Energy Partners under
a long-term PPA. Construction of the project has been initiated on
site, with commercial operation starting in 2024. South Bend based
Inovateus Solar LLC is the construction contractor for the
facility, with a focus on utilizing local labor for the mechanical,
electrical and civil work on site.
“This power purchase agreement is a great example of how energy
buyers with sustainability goals such as AEP Energy Partners can
work with us to spur the buildout of new solar projects that will
improve the health and energy security of communities across
America while helping strengthen local economies. As the owner and
operator of the Honeysuckle solar farm, we look forward to bringing
economic and environmental benefits to the region, along with
fostering community partnerships,” said Kevin Smith, Lightsource
bp’s CEO of the Americas.
Economic benefits
The Honeysuckle solar farm will:
- Create approximately 200 direct construction jobs, primarily
local, in addition to hundreds of U.S. jobs across the supply
chain
- Support domestic manufacturers and low carbon products, with
ultra-low carbon solar panels from First Solar, smart solar
trackers from Array Technologies and steel from Nucor
- Bring $250 million of new, privately funded renewable energy
infrastructure to Indiana
- Provide an estimated $30 million boost to the local community
over the project life – additional funding for local schools and
other services without a tax increase on its citizens
- Deliver a $3 million economic development payment to St. Joseph
County to be allocated by county officials as they determine best
serves the community.
Protecting the environment
Lightsource bp and AEP Energy Partners have a common mission to
deliver affordable, reliable electricity to communities, while
protecting the environment. While the primary purpose of solar is
to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation in order to
mitigate climate change, Lightsource bp extends the benefits of
solar energy further through their Responsible Solar approach. The
goal is to build multiuse solar projects on which clean energy
generation, agriculture, habitat and biodiversity enhancement share
the land under and around the solar panels.
As part of this Responsible Solar approach, an action plan is
underway for the Honeysuckle Solar project to achieve biodiversity
net gains and foster pollinator habitat – ensuring that Honeysuckle
will be a pollinator friendly solar farm.
Learn more about multiuse solar.
About Lightsource bp
Lightsource bp is a global leader in the development and
management of solar energy and energy storage projects and a 50:50
joint venture with bp. For more than a decade, Lightsource bp has
delivered affordable, safe and sustainable energy to businesses and
communities around the world. Their team includes nearly 1,000
industry experts, working in 19 countries, providing full scope
development for projects, from initial site selection, financing
and permitting to long-term management of solar projects and energy
sales to their customers. Lightsource bp in the U.S. is
headquartered in San Francisco with development offices in Denver,
Austin, Philadelphia and Atlanta and staff in more than 25 states.
Since 2019, the team has brought into operation or initiated
construction on 3.2 gigawatts of U.S. solar projects with capital
costs of nearly $4 billion across 11 states in America. For more
information visit www.lightsourcebp.com/us.
About AEP and AEP Energy Partners
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) subsidiaries AEP
Renewables, AEP Energy, OnSite Partners, and AEP Energy Partners,
deliver a wide array of innovative competitive energy solutions
nationwide. As one of the largest wholesale suppliers in the
country, AEP Energy Partners specializes in offering customized
wholesale power supply products based on the specific needs of
customers’ electric systems within ERCOT, MISO, PJM and SPP. AEP
Energy Partners also sells renewable energy through long-term
contracts with utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities and
corporate customers. With a commitment to a clean energy future,
AEP’s competitive businesses currently own over 1,500 megawatts of
wind, solar and energy storage on both a utility scale and
distributed scale basis. Solving energy problems for customers, AEP
OnSite Partners and its competitive affiliates own and operate over
75 behind-the-meter projects in 22 different states and have an
active development pipeline across the U.S. As a competitive retail
electricity and natural gas supplier, AEP Energy serves over
700,000 residential and business customers in 28 service
territories in six states and Washington, D.C. Based in Columbus,
Ohio, Chicago, Illinois and San Diego, California, AEP’s family of
competitive companies takes pride in making it easy for customers
and partners to buy, manage and use energy. Learn more about AEP
Energy Partners.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005791/en/
Media: Mary Grikas Mary.Grikas@lightsourcebp.com
Sarah Devine sedevine@aep.com 614/716-2011
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