BrightNight to Deliver Largest Renewable Solution in SPPA History

INLET BEACH, Fla., July 19, 2022 — Following a competitive solicitation, the Southwest Public Power Agency, Inc. (SPPA) has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a BrightNight joint venture (JV) for the delivery of 300-megawatts of solar energy and 600 megawatt-hours of battery storage power. This is the largest renewable power purchase in SPPA’s operational history and will supply 21 of SPPA’s constituent members who are working to meet growing demand and carbon reduction goals. Power will be supplied from BrightNight’s Box Canyon project located in Pinal County, Arizona, held jointly with BrightNight’s JV partner, Cordelio Power. The project recently completed its final major permitting milestones and is expected to begin operation in 2025. SPPA Project Manager, Dennis Delaney shared that, “SPPA is proud to supply its members with safe, reliable, and affordable electricity from an industry-leading renewable power project. BrightNight was able to understand our long-term goals and propose a solution to meet the needs of our members and their customers, while remaining cost-effective.”

BrightNight specializes in utility-scale dispatchable power and leveraged its in-house optimization technology to assess SPPA’s needs and deliver a value-creating solution that goes beyond the technology configuration in the original RFP. BrightNight developed the Box Canyon project as part of their joint venture with Cordelio Power, which owns and develops renewable power facilities across North America and is wholly owned by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

BrightNight CEO Martin Hermann shared, “Our partnership with SPPA is emblematic of our customer-centric approach that delivers solutions that go beyond customer expectations. We’re excited to deliver reliable, dispatchable, renewable power to SPPA and applaud SPPA for their leadership in providing cost-effective, long-term, clean power to its members and their customers.”

In addition to providing approximately 1/3 of SPPA’s peak capacity needs and 19-21% of SPPA’s energy needs, the Box Canyon project is expected to create more than 200 construction jobs, approximately 5 permanent O&M jobs, and is projected to contribute more than $65M to the K-12 educational trust through lease payments to the State of Arizona. The project garnered broad public support across Pinal County. BrightNight coordinated with local businesses and executed a vigorous community engagement campaign that contributed to the project’s successful development. The Box Canyon project is a powerful example of the value renewable power infrastructure can provide. BrightNight is developing a 20-gigawatt-ac portfolio of projects across the country for customers working to meet growing demand and address challenging reliability factors. BrightNight’s solutions deliver more than clean renewable power – they provide significant economic value to the communities they serve, create high-value jobs in a growing industry, and generate electricity without any added burden on local transportation and water infrastructure.