OREANDA-NEWS. SunPower has started construction of the 102MW Henrietta solar project in central California.

The Henrietta facility in Kings County will supply power to Pacific Gas and Electric over a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) after construction is completed in July 2016, the company said today.

The project will subsequently be dropped into SunPower's forthcoming joint-venture yieldco with First Solar, called 8point3 Energy Partners, when commercial operations begin. The joint venture will own other solar assets serving California, including the 250MW Moapa plant, which has a 25-year PPA with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the 300MW Stateline plant, which has a 20-year agreement with Southern California Edison. The projects are expected to come on line by late 2016.

Through the yieldco, SunPower and First Solar plan to increase development efforts in California, citing advances in the state's renewable portfolio standard, distributed generation market and renewable energy storage mandates as demand drivers. Forthcoming federal regulations for emissions from the power sector also make the market for attractive, SunPower said.

The company estimates that the 102MW facility will offset about 128,000 metric tonnes/yr of CO2.

Yieldcos provide investors and shareholders with tax advantages. Their earnings are derived from long-term power purchase agreements and a pipeline of acquisitions and parent-to-subsidiary asset transfers of generation assets.