SAN JOSE, Calif., June 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR) today announced it has started construction on the 102-megawatt (AC) Henrietta Solar Project in Kings County, Calif. The system will generate power for Pacific Gas and Electric's customers under a long-term power purchase agreement. SunPower expects the plant to be operational by the end of 2016.
"With more than 5.8 gigawatts of operating solar systems worldwide, SunPower designs and builds solar power plants to leverage the company's proven experience and our technology's outstanding power-producing performance," said Jorg Heinemann, SunPower executive vice president, global power plants. "SunPower customers rely on the cost-competitive, emission-free power and long-term return on investment that our systems deliver."
SunPower anticipates that about 350 jobs will be created during construction of Henrietta. Approximately $73 million in local economic impact and an estimated $3.8 million in tax revenue will be generated as a result of the project. Once operational, the Henrietta project is expected to generate enough electricity for more than 22,000 homes, according to estimates provided by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
SunPower is constructing a SunPower® Oasis® Power Plant system at the approximately 670- acre Henrietta site. Oasis is a fully-integrated, modular solar power block that is engineered to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy utility-scale solar projects while optimizing land use. The technology includes robotic solar panel cleaning capability that uses 75 percent less water than traditional cleaning methods and can help improve system performance by up to 15 percent.
According to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the completed plant will offset the annual production of almost 128,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is the equivalent of removing more than 614,000 cars from California's roads over the next 25 years.
About SunPower Corp.
SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR) designs, manufactures and delivers the highest efficiency, highest reliability solar panels and systems available today. Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on SunPower's 30 years of experience and guaranteed performance to provide maximum return on investment throughout the life of the solar system. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia. For more information, visit www.sunpower.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding (1) our plans and objectives for existing and future project development and construction; (2) estimates regarding the future performance and reliability of our products; and (3) project development and construction. These forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results, performance or achievement to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) competition in the industry and downward pressure on average selling prices; (2) our liquidity, substantial indebtedness, and our ability to obtain additional financing for our projects and our customers; (3) our ability to meet our cost reduction targets; (4) regulatory changes and the availability of economic incentives promoting use of solar energy; (5) challenges inherent in constructing and maintaining certain of our large projects, such as the Solar Star projects; (6) the success of our ongoing research and development efforts and commercialization of new products and services; (7) fluctuations in our operating results; (8) manufacturing difficulties that could arise; and (9) challenges managing our joint ventures. A detailed discussion of these factors and other risks that affect our business is included in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, particularly under the heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these filings are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings section of our Investor Relations website at investors.sunpowercorp.com. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information currently available to us, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.
SOURCE SunPower Corp.