Alabama Power Co. has started commercial operation at the 72-MW LaFayette Solar Project in Chambers County, Ala, according to a March 15 news release.
The Southern Co. subsidiary signed a long-term power contract with project owner Centaurus Renewable Energy LLC to receive all energy and environmental attributes of the facility.
In turn, Alabama Power inked a long-term power purchase agreement to sell most of the renewable energy credits generated by the solar farm to Walmart. The company is also looking for other customers who are interested in the remaining output of the project.
The contracts are designed to provide a net benefit for Alabama Power customers, saving them from bearing additional costs related to the new solar power plant.
Situated on 1,100 acres of land, the $140 million facility is made up of 338,000 solar panels and became fully operational by the end of 2017. Construction of the project started in February 2017.
