4 October 2011

Constellation begins construction of Maryland’s largest PV system

Constellation Energy of Baltimore, MD, USA says that its retail energy business affiliate has started construction of a $60m, 16.1MW DC grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) solar installation in Emmitsburg, MD, which the firm will finance, own and operate. As part of the state of Maryland’s Generating Clean Horizons initiative, electricity produced by the facility will be purchased by its Department of General Services and the University System of Maryland under 20-year solar power purchase agreements.

Currently the largest photovoltaic power system under construction in Maryland, the ground-mounted installation will consist of about 220,000 cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film PV panels made by First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, which is also providing engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) services for the project. In addition to the 16.1MW system (which is situated on 100 acres of land leased from Mount St. Mary’s University), Constellation is also developing a 1.3MW solar system on the site that will supply power directly to the university. “This partnership with Constellation Energy supports our sustainability goals here at the Mount,” says Mount St. Mary’s president Thomas H. Powell.

“Our state’s growing ‘green’ sector is vital to our ability to create jobs and compete in the new economy,” says Governor Martin O’Malley. Constellation is employing about 75 people to construct the installation, and expects that to reach a peak of 150 during the height of construction. The system is scheduled for operation in early 2012 and should produce more than 22 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Generating the same amount of electricity using non-renewable sources would result in the release of 15,170 metric tons of carbon dioxide (or the equivalent emissions from 2975 passenger vehicles annually), according to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.

“Projects like this are part of Constellation Energy’s commitment to provide clean energy products and services for our customers, both in Maryland and nationally,” says Mark Huston, head of the retail energy business.

“Utility-scale PV solar is a clean, affordable source of renewable energy in many parts of the United States beyond the Southwest, where it is typically thought of,” notes Frank De Rosa, First Solar’s senior VP of project & business development for North America.

In February 2009, the Maryland Energy Administration, in partnership with the University System of Maryland and the Department of General Services, approved the award of four renewable energy projects under the Generating Clean Horizons program to spur the development of large-scale, commercial renewable energy projects. Under the initiative, the state issued requests for proposals for long-term power purchase agreements from renewable sources delivering clean power to the grid by 2014.

Constellation owns and operates about 100MW of solar installations that have been completed or are under construction for commercial and government customers throughout the USA. By structuring its solar projects as power purchase agreements, Constellation says that it requires no upfront capital from its customers and is able to provide power at a fixed cost that is less than projected market rates. Commercial customers, universities, school systems, hospitals and government agencies interested in on-site solar installations of 1MW or larger may contact Constellation at sustainable-solutions@constellation.com.  

Tags: First Solar Thin-film photovoltaic CdTe

Visit: www.firstsolar.com

Visit: www.constellation.com