Xcel Energy, EVRAZ North America, Lightsource BP reach agreement to develop solar facility in Colorado

Xcel Energy, EVRAZ North America, and Lightsource BP recently announced that they reached a long-term agreement to develop the Bighorn Solar project, a 240-megawatt solar facility in Pueblo, Colo.

Lightsource BP will finance, build, own, and operate the project and sell all of the electricity it generates to Xcel Energy under a long-term power purchase agreement.

The facility will be located on EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel property in Pueblo. It will be the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single customer in the country.

“We’re thrilled to partner with EVRAZ North America and Lightsource BP, two companies committed to creating innovative solutions, while developing new solar energy sources within the state,” Alice Jackson, president of Xcel Energy Colorado, said. “Working together, we’re benefiting the environment and the local economy by retaining a valued company in southern Colorado.”

EVRAZ North America and Xcel Energy agreed to work toward a long-term electricity contract in 2018. The 20-year, fixed-rate structure of the contract provides EVRAZ North America with predictable electricity prices and helps enable the mill, which employs approximately 1,000 workers, to remain in Pueblo.

Lightsource BP and project investors will invest an estimated $250 million into the solar facility. The project will create about 300 jobs in construction, operations, maintenance, and asset management. It will contribute approximately $22 million in property tax revenue over the project life.

Pending approval of the agreement by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the project is expected to go online by the end of 2021.