Utah has been at the forefront of the push for increased energy production. On the outskirts of Emery County, rPlus Energies’ Green River Energy Center looks to contribute to this push. With a generating capacity of 1800 megawatts, the solar field aims to be a key player in the state’s energy initiatives.
The Emery County Business Chamber toured the facility on Wednesday, April 17, as part of its monthly lunch-and-learn event.
Construction Manager Jared Ewan welcomed the Chamber to the energy center and introduced what the field aims to accomplish. “We’ve got 500 miles of DC and AC cable that’s installed under the ground. The DC cable collects all the solar energy. It is then inverted and moves to AC energy. That goes to the substation and, from there, off to the transmission lines.”
Ewan continued,” This project stands out differently from other solar projects in the area. We’re coupling battery energy storage with this one. So, we’re putting 484 Tesla mega packs on this project. With those mega packs being put in place, that puts us at over 1800 megawatts that we’re producing out here.”
The Green River Energy Center is one of the largest of its kind. Driving the speed limit around its perimeter would take two hours to complete a full loop. Due to the sheer scale of this project, several engineering, procurement and construction subcontractors are involved. Businesses such as TSJ Construction, Bodec Electric, and Sukut Construction all assist in the construction of the project.
Holding its groundbreaking ceremony in September of 2024, the project looks to be completed by 2026. In its first year of operation, the solar farm is expected to increase property tax revenue in Emery County by $4.35 million; an amount which is expected to grow to $55.2 million over 20 years.
Theresa Foxley, chief of staff for rPlus, explained how the project is financed,” The way it usually works is a sponsor like rPlus will put in what’s called sponsor equity. Then we get debt financing on the project secured by the contract that we have with Rocky Mountain Power and Pacific Corp to take the power off, so they know that we can basically pay our mortgage. In other words, we’ll pay off the debt because we have a customer that will buy the power and that customer agreement lasts for us for 20 years with them.”
Attendees were then taken out into the field, where they saw the construction of blocks of solar panels and explored an under-construction section of the project. The ground was littered with metal bases and spools of wire crisscrossing across it.
rPlus also highlighted the company’s work within the community, including the establishment of the Energy First and Local First scholarships at Utah State University Eastern. Other community involvement includes donations to the Castle Country Classic livestock show, the Emery County Fair and the Huntington Elementary archery team.