By SAN FRANCISCO — E.ON Solar announced that Maricopa West, a 20 MW (AC) solar project located in Southern California, has completed the construction phase and is set to become fully operational.
“The completion of Maricopa West, ahead of schedule and under budget, demonstrates the E.ON Solar team’s expertise in developing best-in-class projects, as well as our continued success in collaborating with technology, engineering and construction partners, and local, state, and federal officials,” said Steve Trenholm, CEO, E.ON Solar. “We are also proud that the construction of Maricopa West provided a boost to the Kern County economy by creating 160 jobs for electricians, iron workers, laborers and other trades.”
Maricopa West occupies land purchased by E.ON Solar within the Maricopa Sun Solar Complex, a 4,000- acre solar park near Taft, Calif. The complex has obtained a conditional use permit from Kern County, an incidental take permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a habitat conservation plan under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The habitat conservation plan for the Maricopa Sun solar complex is among the first of its kind granted by the USFWS.
“We worked closely with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and California Fish and Wildlife to get to the point of a shovel ready project,” said Jeff Roberts of Maricopa Sun. “We are also very grateful for the efforts of federal, state and local officials in Kern County for supporting the complex from day one. The Kern County Planning Department deserves special recognition for encouraging our project through unchartered waters.”
The Maricopa West solar project will utilize single-axis tracking and consist of 89,000 photovoltaic panels.
“The future for E.ON Solar is bright, as evidenced by our successful completion of projects in California and Arizona, and our track-record of creating clean, reliable energy that doesn’t use water in the production of electricity, creates more jobs and helps to address America’s energy resource and security needs,” said Trenholm.
About E.ON
E.ON is one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies, with annual sales of €112 billion and more than 58,000 employees. E.ON, headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, plays a leading role in the development of the renewable industry worldwide and is already active in onshore and offshore wind, photovoltaic, and concentrating solar power (CSP). E.ON currently operates over 10 gigawatt of renewable capacity including large hydro. Since 2007, E.ON has already invested more than €9.5 billion and will continue to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON’s power generation portfolio. It is E.ON’s ambition to further industrialize the sector and professionalize its operations, in order to reduce the cost of renewable generation and make it ever more competitive. To this end, E.ON works with a wide range of partners and is always open to discuss potential cooperation with committed technical experts and financial investors alike.
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