The Webberville Solar Farm, is a 35
MWp (30
MWAC)
photovoltaic
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
array in located in
Webberville, Texas
Webberville is a village in Travis County, Texas (USA). Its population was 392, according to a 2010 census estimate.
Comprising settlements dating back to 1827, Webber's Prairie was formally established by retired physician John Ferdinand Webber ...
,
[Technical details](_blank)
/ref> only about 6 miles east of the Tesla Gigafactory 5. It has 127,728 Trina Solar
Trina Solar Co., Ltd. (SSE: 688599, ), founded in 1997, manufactures, sells and does research and development on PV products, EPC and O&M. It also develops and sells smart micro-grid and multi-energy complementary systems and energy cloud-platf ...
solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers, covers an area of , and was built at a cost of $250 million. It is expected to generate 61 GWh in the first year of operation, and 1.4 billion kWh
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
over its 25 year life. Operation began on December 20, 2011, with a ribbon cutting by Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell
Shelly "Lee" Leffingwell (born October 13, 1939) is an American environmentalist and politician who served as the mayor of Austin, Texas, from June 22, 2009 to January 6, 2015.
He was first elected to the Austin City Council in 2005, and won re ...
on January 6, 2012.[Austin Energy Activates 30 MW Solar Farm]
/ref>
The project was constructed by RES Americas, who will operate the plant for five years. In 2012, SunEdison
SunEdison, Inc. (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials) is a renewable energy company headquartered in the U.S. In addition to developing, building, owning, and operating solar power plants and wind energy plants, it also manufactures high purity po ...
sold the plant to MetLife
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...
and Longsol Holdings, but will operate the plant for 20 years upon the expiration of the responsibilities of RES Americas. Austin Energy
Austin Energy is a publicly owned utility providing electrical power to the city of Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. Established in 1895, the utility is a department of the City of Austin and returns its profits to the city's general fund to ...
is purchasing the power generated under a 25 year PPA, and has a goal of generating 35% of power consumed from renewable resources by 2020.
/ref>
Source:Webberville Solar Farm
Electricity Production
See also
* Solar power in Texas
References
External links
Website
{{Solar power in the United States
Energy infrastructure completed in 2012
Solar power stations in Texas
Photovoltaic power stations in the United States
MetLife
SunEdison