A steel plant in US Colorado now runs largely on solar energy. This makes EVRAZ North America's Pueblo plant the first steel plant in the world to operate largely on solar energy, in its own words. This is possible thanks to a new 300 MW solar farm called Bighorn Solar.
Bighorn Solar was developed by Lightsource BP and Xcel Energy, a utility operating in several US states including Colorado. Lightsource BP is a 50:50 joint venture formed in 2018 after BP invested 200 million in Lightsource. This gave BP a 43% stake in the company.
Solar farm
EVRZ North America, together with Lightsource BP and Xcel Energy, announced the development of a solar farm in Pueblo, Colorado, in September 2019. Lightsource BP, together with investors, put $250 million into the project. The solar park is owned by Lightsource BP, which is also responsible for construction and management. The solar park is located on a site owned by EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel in Pueblo.
Lightsource BP sells all energy generated by Bighorn Solar to Xcel Energy as part of a long-term contract. The utility then sells the energy to EVRAZ through a 20-year fixed-rate contract.
Twenty-year term and fixed rate
EVRAZ reports that the project will run for 20 years, during which a fixed tariff will be used. The long-term contract thus gives the steel company price certainty until 2041. Xcel Energy is thereby reducing CO2 emissions by 433,770 tonnes of CO2. According to the parties involved, this is equivalent to taking some 92,100 combustion engine cars off the road every year.
"The fixed-rate energy deal gives EVRAZ the low and predictable electricity prices needed to stay in Pueblo and invest in its future there, preserving more than 1,000 jobs in the local community," EVRAZ North America writes in a press release.
More than 750,000 solar panels
The solar farm was scheduled to have a capacity of 240MW in 2019, according to the announcement. However, the final capacity is 300MW. The site has a total of more than 750,000 solar panels, generating almost all of the plant's power consumption. This will be the largest on-site solar farm in the US for a single customer, reports Lightsource BP.
Kevin Smith, CEO of Lightsource BP Americas, says the project shows that even harder-to-sustain sectors can be made more sustainable. "This project shows that even hard-to-sustain sectors like steel can be decarbonised if companies come together with innovative solutions. Our partnership with Xcel Energy and EVRAZ North America makes Bighorn Solar a reality. It is a great example of partners tackling complex problems facing US industry today, while preserving manufacturing jobs."
The plant is now generating energy and is expected to be fully operational by November 2021.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
