Solar (PV and CSP)

Photovoltaic (or PV) solar uses thin-film photovoltaic solar panels to convert sunlight directly into electricity without the need for process water or steam turbines. NRG owns the 21 megawatt (MW) power plant in Blythe, Calif. Located in Riverside County about 200 miles east of Los Angeles. Power from the Blythe facility is sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement. At peak capacity, the facility can supply the power needs of almost 17,000 homes while helping California meet its renewable energy goals.

NRG co-owns the Avenal Solar facility that produces 45 MW from three separate PV projects on the site, located 75 miles north of Bakersfield, California. Power from the facility is sold to Pacific Gas and Electric under 20-years power purchase agreements.

NRG opened its first New Mexico facility in 2011 at the Roadrunner Solar facility in Santa Teresa in southern New Mexico. The 20 MW facility generates PV solar power for El Paso Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

NRG's partnership with BrightSource, a leading developer of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, will allow us to advance our renewable energy portfolio while helping to accelerate the development of clean solar power on a commercial scale.

NRG is the lead investor, along with Google and BrightSource, of the 392 MW Ivanpah project currently being developed in southeastern California's Mojave Desert. BrightSource's CSP technology uses a field of mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a thermal receiver. The captured sunlight heats water to produce high-pressure steam that powers a traditional turbine generator. Using BrightSource's technology, NRG will produce clean, zero-fuel cost electricity that is coincident with peak demand on the hottest summer days.