During a festive ribbon-cutting ceremony, NRG
Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), one of the
largest solar companies in the U.S., celebrated the installation of the
Spanish Town Estate Solar Project on the island of St. Croix in the U.S.
Virgin Islands. By harnessing the island’s bountiful sunlight, the
Spanish Town Estate facility stands ready to generate 4 megawatts (MWac)
of clean, emission-free energy, enough to power the homes of
approximately 1,500 customers of the U.S. Virgin Island Water and Power
Authority (WAPA). The ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant is
positioned on 17 acres in Estate Spanish Town, and is connected directly
to the new Gregory E. Willocks Substation at the same location.
NRG Energy Spanish Town Estate Solar Facility, St. Croix USVI (Photo: Business Wire)
NRG executives joined representatives from project partners Toshiba
International Corporation and WAPA to tour the Spanish Town Estate
facility and the new substation after the official ribbon-cutting. The
Spanish Town Estate project will be an important step toward the U.S.
Virgin Islands and St. Croix achieving their renewable energy goal to
reduce fossil fuel-based energy consumption by 60 percent over the next
decade. During construction, the project created nearly 100 direct and
indirect jobs and injected an estimated $3 million into the local
economy.
“Now home to NRG’s first solar facility in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Spanish Town Estate stands out as an example of how Caribbean nations
can tap the power of the sun to provide clean energy to residents
without compromising the island’s natural beauty,” said Edouard
MacGuffie, vice president of development, NRG Renew Caribbean region.
“At NRG Renew, we are proud to celebrate this milestone alongside our
partners and we look forward to bringing the power of solar energy to
other Caribbean nations looking to follow the precedent we set here in
St. Croix.”
“Like several of the other green energy initiatives that the Authority
is pursuing, this project will result in lowering energy costs for our
customers,” said Hugo Hodge Jr., executive director, U.S. Virgin Island
Water and Power Authority. “It will generate clean, reliable solar power
for delivery to WAPA customers, and help the Virgin Islands and St.
Croix achieve our renewable energy goals for the coming years.”
“With the Spanish Town Estate facility, Toshiba worked with project
owner NRG and continued with our mission to bring environmentally
friendly options for energy generation to the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said
Mark Lonkevych, business unit manager at Toshiba. “Since we signed our
initial agreement with WAPA in 2012, Toshiba has been proud of the
progress we have made and how the Spanish Town Estate facility maintains
the pristine beauty of the island which was not compromised by economic
factors and the detrimental effects of importing and using fossil fuels.”
While Toshiba served as the lead engineering, procurement and
construction through completion, NRG, through its subsidiaries, is now
the sole owner of the Spanish Town Estate facility. This project, which
is NRG’s first public solar facility in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
highlights a commitment to the region and expands NRG’s efforts in the
Caribbean, which also include solar projects in Haiti; a solar
installation which will begin next year in St. John and a microgrid
installation under development on Necker Island.
About NRG Energy and NRG Renew
NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is leading customer-driven change in the U.S.
energy industry by delivering cleaner and smarter energy choices, while
building on the strength of the nation’s largest and most diverse
competitive power portfolio. A Fortune 250 company, we create value
through reliable and efficient conventional generation while driving
innovation in solar and renewable power, electric vehicle ecosystems,
carbon capture technology and customer-centric energy solutions. Our
retail electricity providers serve almost 3 million residential and
commercial customers throughout the country. More information is
available at www.nrg.com.
Connect with NRG Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy
and @NRGMedia.
NRG Renew, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, oversees the operation of more
than 150 renewable energy projects in the US and internationally. NRG
and its companies own or operate approximately 4,500 gross megawatts
(MWac) of solar and wind capacity1.
More information is available at http://www.nrg.com/renew
NRG Safe Harbor Disclosure
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are
subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include
NRG’s expectations regarding the Company’s Spanish Town Estate solar
project and forward-looking statements typically can be identified by
the use of words such as “will,” “expect,” “believe,” and similar terms.
Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give
no assurance that these expectations will prove to h ave been correct,
and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated above include,
among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the
power industry, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility
of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under
contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government
regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, and our ability to
achieve the expected benefits and timing of our renewable projects. NRG
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated in the
forward-looking statements included in this news release should be
considered in connection with information regarding risks and
uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results included in NRG’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
1 http://www.nrg.com/about/who-we-are/our-assets/
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141029005958/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2014