Swinerton Breaks Ground on 200MW SoCal Solar Project

By Anca Gagiuc

Swinerton Renewable Energy, in partnership with New Energy Solar (NEW) and D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), broke ground on Mount Signal 2 in Southern California’s Imperial Valley. Completion is estimated for December 2019.

Mount Signal 2 will be set on 1,200 acres, about 6 miles west of Calexico, Calif., in Imperial County. For the project, more than 200 people will be hired locally throughout the construction phase, impacting the county’s high unemployment number, estimated at 19.8 percent in September. Swinerton will serve as EPC on the 200-mwgawatt (dc) photovoltaic solar project, acquired by NEW from DESRI in March 2018. DESRI will continue to provide development and asset management services to the project.

Tech specs

The solar project will include the NEXTracker single-axis tracker system, Power Electronics inverters and more than 460,000 modules. Mount Signal 2 will tie into the San Diego Gas and Electric transmission lines and is expected to generate sufficient energy to power roughly 70,000 homes served by Southern California Edison.

“Mount Signal 2 exemplifies the lasting economic impact a solar project can have on a community,” George Hershman, general manager of Swinerton Renewable Energy, said in a prepared statement. “This project will offer the underemployed local workforce not only hundreds of well-paying jobs, but also the opportunity to build a skill set that can be used on future solar projects in the area.”

“Mount Signal 2 is an example of solar energy becoming part of mainstream infrastructure investment—meeting not just the goal of earning a return on investment, but offsetting carbon emissions, helping communities and utilities to meet environmental targets, and supporting job creation in rural areas like the Imperial Valley,” added John Martin, CEO of NEW.