SAN FRANCISCO and HOUSTON—Oct. 31, 2019—Intersect Power, a utility-scale renewable energy developer, and Direct Energy Business, part of Direct Energy, one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers, and a subsidiary of Centrica PLC, announced today that they have entered into a long-term solar power purchase agreement (PPA) for Intersect Power’s Athos Solar I 250 megawatt (MWAC) project. This agreement enables Direct Energy to contract with Direct Access (DA) customers and Community Choice Aggregations (CCAs) as they decarbonize their electricity supplies.
Once completed, the combined 450 MWAC Athos Solar I and II project will be one of the largest solar installations in California. Located on more than 3,200 acres of land in the Desert Center area in Riverside County, the project will support over 500 jobs during construction in the county and generate enough clean electricity to power 136,500 homes and result in some 1 million tons of avoided CO2 emissions per year.
“The team at Intersect Power is pleased to work with Direct Energy to deliver new in-state renewable energy generation options for California homes and businesses,” said Sheldon Kimber, CEO and co-founder of Intersect Power. “Together, we are creating a long-term agreement to benefit Southern Californian communities and help households reduce their environmental impact.”
“This transaction demonstrates Direct Energy’s unique ability to create long-term renewable energy solutions that combine the strengths of customers, project developers, and energy service providers alike,” said David Brast, Senior Vice President, North America Power and Gas, Direct Energy Business. “Athos Solar I is an exciting project to be a part of. Intersect has developed several excellent projects and we are proud to collaborate with them. Direct Energy is looking forward to the project helping enable our customers to move to a lower carbon future.”
The Athos I project is scheduled to begin construction in June 2020 and Athos II in October 2020.
About Direct Energy
Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest retail providers of electricity, natural gas and energy-related services to over three million homes and business. It is part of Centrica plc (LSE: CNA), a leading international energy services and solutions provider that is founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people. Direct Energy, its subsidiaries and/or affiliates, operate in 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and 8 provinces in Canada. We are focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers, enabling them to transition to a lower carbon future. Our aim is to reduce emissions in line with Paris goals by 2030 and develop a path to net zero by 2050. To learn more about Direct Energy, please visit www.directenergy.com.
About Intersect Power
Founded in 2016, Intersect Power is a renewable energy development company bringing utility-scale power to wholesale customers and markets, delivering value and viability to both energy buyers and asset owners. The company develops renewable energy assets, including all aspects of siting, permitting, interconnection, power marketing, procurement and finance. Intersect Power has more than 1.7 GWDC of contracted, late-stage solar projects across California and Texas that will be built, owned and operated by SB Energy, which has also invested in developing Intersect Power’s remaining 3 GWDC of early- to mid-stage projects. For more information, visit www.intersectpower.com.