NRG Energy Unit to Build Solar Energy Facility for Cisco - Analyst Blog
NRG Energy, Inc. NRG, through its renewable business unit NRG Renew LLC, plans to build a 20 megawatt (MW) solar energy facility to generate solar power for Cisco Systems’ CSCO San Jose headquarters. The company will sell electricity generated by solar installation to Cisco under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
NRG Renew plans to convert its NRG Solar Blythe II location into a solar installation facility for generating electricity under the project. NRG Solar Blythe II is located in the Sonoran Desert near the Arizona-California border. The 153-acre area, under development by NRG Energy since 2010, is suitable for a solar power facility as it receives abundant sunshine. Moreover, the installation of photovoltaic technology at the site will require minimal water and no fuel.
The amount of electricity to be produced by the solar project is equivalent to the power needed by more than 14,000 homes and to prevent more than 102,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually.
The project will help Cisco meet its goal of using renewable energy resources for at least 25% of its electricity needs by 2017. It is expected to create roughly 200 jobs during the construction period and thereafter, begin commercial operation by the end of 2016.
NRG Energy pursues its plan to expand its distributed solar projects under its NRG Renew business and focus on home solar installations, ongoing solar projects and the Carbon 360 ventures. These initiatives support the company’s plan of reducing carbon dioxide emission by 50% in 2030 over 2014 levels.
NRG Energy and NRG Renew are already providing clean energy solutions for Unilever U.S. UN and Oakland, CA-based non-profit healthcare provider, Kaiser Permanente.
NRG Energy plans to allocate 70% of its capital expenditures on conventional projects (which include maintenance, environmental, and fuel conversions and repowerings), 30% on proven growth projects related to its NRG Home Solar and NRG Renew businesses and the remaining 10% on high growth projects, which are related to NRG eVgo and NRG Carbon 360. The company has targeted capital expenditures of $1.7 billion for 2015, $1.6 billion for 2016 and less than $1.0 billion beyond that.
Currently, NRG Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). RWE AG RWEOY, with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), is one of the better-ranked stocks in the industry at the moment.
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