The Webberville Solar Farm, is a 35 MWp (30 MWAC) photovoltaic array in located in Webberville, Texas,[1] only about 6 miles east of the Tesla Gigafactory 5. It has 127,728 Trina Solar solar panels[2] mounted on single-axis trackers, covers an area of 380 acres (150 ha), and was built at a cost of $250 million.[3] It is expected to generate 61 GWh in the first year of operation,[4] and 1.4 billion kWh over its 25 year life. Operation began on December 20, 2011, with a ribbon cutting by Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell on January 6, 2012.[5]
The project was constructed by RES Americas, who will operate the plant for five years. In 2012, SunEdison sold the plant to MetLife and Longsol Holdings, but will operate the plant for 20 years upon the expiration of the responsibilities of RES Americas.[6]Austin Energy is purchasing the power generated under a 25 year PPA, and has a goal of generating 35% of power consumed from renewable resources by 2020.[5][7]
