Greater Sandhill Solar Plant
| Greater Sandhill Solar Plant | |
|---|---|
 The station viewed from Lane 8 North, showing the movable panels | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | San Luis Valley, Mosca, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°41′08″N 105°53′27″W / 37.68556°N 105.89083°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | March 2010 |
| Commission date | March 2011 |
| Owner(s) | Metlife and John Hancock Financial Services |
| Operator(s) | SunPower |
| Solar farm | |
| Type | Flat-panel PV |
| Site area | 200 acres (81 ha) |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 19 MWAC |
| Capacity factor | 28.4% (average 2011-2021) |
| Annual net output | 47.3 GW·h, 236 MW·h/acre |
The Greater Sandhill Solar Plant is a 19 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station in the San Luis Valley, located near the town of Mosca, Colorado. It was the largest solar facility in the state when it came online at the end of 2010.[1] The electricity is being sold to Public Service of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, under a long-term power purchase agreement.[2]
Facility details[edit]
The facility occupies about 200 acres of a 320 acre plot of water-constrained former agricultural land, and is sited adjacent to the Alamosa photovoltaic power plant which was completed two years earlier.[2][3] It was developed and built by SunPower using the company's most-advanced high-efficiency technology. It contains about 50,000 modules which are mounted onto T-20 trackers.[2] This tracker design was newly released in 2010, and was marketed as enabling the highest production.[4][5]
The plant is owned by Metlife and John Hancock Financial Services, which also partnered to finance the construction.[6] Buesing Corp of Phoenix AZ was contracted to set the 16,800 helical screw pile foundations.[7] The facility was completed in nine months, and was at full production by the end of December 2010.[8] The start of commercial operations was announced in March 2011.[1][6]
Electricity production[edit]
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,763 | 1,841 | 2,113 | 1,445 | 8,162 | ||||||||
| 2011 | 2,508 | 3,119 | 3,927 | 5,056 | 5,565 | 5,966 | 4,635 | 5,244 | 3,983 | 3,933 | 2,652 | 2,274 | 48,862 |
| 2012 | 987 | 1,191 | 1,625 | 2,595 | 5,196 | 5,612 | 5,456 | 5,569 | 5,850 | 5,918 | 4,864 | 4,266 | 49,131 |
| 2013 | 2,816 | 3,218 | 3,990 | 3,874 | 4,775 | 4,872 | 4,653 | 4,637 | 4,289 | 4,450 | 3,056 | 3,058 | 47,689 |
| 2014 | 3,024 | 3,420 | 4,281 | 3,990 | 4,441 | 4,973 | 4,165 | 5,072 | 4,019 | 3,804 | 3,102 | 2,087 | 46,378 |
| 2015 | 2,196 | 3,132 | 4,431 | 4,365 | 4,044 | 4,678 | 3,762 | 4,349 | 4,041 | 3,212 | 3,201 | 4,242 | 45,653 |
| 2016 | 1,717 | 2,494 | 3,057 | 3,035 | 3,586 | 3,772 | 3,937 | 3,132 | 6,810 | 6,578 | 4,846 | 4,340 | 47,303 |
| 2017 | 1,896 | 2,954 | 4,133 | 4,563 | 5,379 | 5,829 | 5,056 | 4,231 | 3,544 | 4,197 | 2,677 | 2,749 | 47,210 |
| 2018 | 2,461 | 2,894 | 3,742 | 4,535 | 5,227 | 5,617 | 4,896 | 4,888 | 4,698 | 3,503 | 2,888 | 2,091 | 47,439 |
| 2019 | 2,436 | 2,567 | 3,823 | 4,501 | 4,792 | 5,390 | 5,102 | 5,194 | 4,287 | 4,214 | 2,619 | 1,909 | 46,834 |
| 2020 | 2,617 | 2,757 | 4,223 | 4,720 | 5,480 | 5,313 | 5,507 | 4,488 | 4,374 | 3,296 | 2,840 | 2,146 | 47,760 |
| 2021 | 2,463 | 2,719 | 3,475 | 4,219 | 4,157 | 5,168 | 5,565 | 5,283 | 4,521 | 3,503 | 2,616 | 2,344 | 46,033 |
| Average Annual Production (years 2011-2021) ---> | 47,299 | ||||||||||||
See also[edit]
- Alamosa Photovoltaic Power Plant
- San Luis Valley Solar Ranch
- Solar power in Colorado
- Solar power in the United States
- Renewable energy in the United States
- Renewable portfolio standard
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Largest PV Solar Power Plant Operating in Colorado". agwired.com. March 17, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Solar Technology Helps Xcel Energy Meet Colorado's Renewable Energy Standard". Sunpower. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ "Going Solar Is Harder Than It Looks, a Valley Finds". New York Times. June 3, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "SunPower Announces the Most Powerful Solar Tracker for Power Plant Applications". Sunpower. October 27, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ "SunPower Launches new T20 Tracker". solarindustrymag.com. October 27, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ a b "Xcel Energy, SunPower commission 19-MW solar power plant in Colorado". renewablesnow.com. March 17, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ "Xcel Greater Sandhill 20MW Solar Plant". Buesing Corp. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ a b "Greater Sandhill, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
