RES to construct and operate Lamesa Solar Facility

Renewable Energy Systems (RES) recently sold the 102-megawatt (MW) Lamesa Solar Facility located in Dawson County, Texasto Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company. RES, which is a provider of development, engineering, construction, and operations services to the utility-scale wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage markets across the Americas, will construct and serve as the operations and maintenance contractor for the project.

BNB Renewable Energy Holdings, the project’s originating developer began working with landowners, local officials and community leaders in late 2013, and in mid-2015 entered into a joint development agreement with RES to complete the project.

Construction will start in July 2016, with expected commercial operation by mid-2017. The project will employ approximately 300 workers during peak construction, will have three or more full-time O&M jobs, and will operate for up to 30 years.The project, which will comprise 410,000 photovoltaic panels, will generate enough electricity to power the energy needs of approximately 26,000 US homes.

“This project is our third and largest solar project in Texas, having already constructed more than 70 MW in the state,” said Chad Horton, VP, RES Development, Americas. “We look forward to working with BNB to bring more solar energy online in Texas. RES has been committed to bringing renewable energy to the state, having developed and or constructed more than 2,300 MW of wind to date.”

“A lot of important stakeholders worked together to make this project happen,” said Jos Nicholas, a partner at BNB, which also developed two utility-scale wind farms (totaling nearly 400MW) and a utility-scale solar project in Texas, all of which are operational. “On behalf of Southern, RES, and BNB, I want to thank the many landowners and City of Lamesa and Dawson County officials who played an instrumental role throughout the development process.”