BlueChip Energy starts development of the Rinehart Solar Farm

(07/06/2010)

The Rinehart Solar Farm project, located in Lake Mary, Fla., will have a total capacity of 10 megawatts (MW) and an annual generation of approximately 15,000,000 kilowatt-hours. This is equivalent to the annual energy use of roughly 1,100 area homes. It will cover a portion of the 380,000 square foot rooftop space and surrounding acreage of BlueChip Energy’s Lake Mary facility.

BlueChip Energy has announced it has started stage one of the Rinehart Solar Farm, a 10 MW utility-scale solar PV facility in Central Florida.

The solar farm is being built in stages, starting with a roof top plant totaling 120 kilowatts (kW). It will feature 520 monocrystalline 230 Watt panels and two 60 kW Fronius inverters. The first stage is expected to be completed by July, 2010. Stage two is a roof top plant consisting of 500 kW. Subsequent stages will consist of a third, 1.4 MW rooftop system and 8 MW of ground-based systems.

The company has a power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply Progress Energy Florida with renewable solar power from the Rinehart Solar Farm. As a clean energy project, it will stimulate the local economy by creating an estimated 100 high-paying, high-skilled jobs while building local expertise in solar energy. “We expect the Rinehart Solar Farm to serve as a model in the state of Florida for more large-scale, alternative-energy projects," commented Lawrence Hefler, spokesperson for the company.

Related categories:  Solar power and photovoltaics