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    Deriva Energy Commences Commercial Operations at 175 MW Pike Solar Project in Colorado

    Dec. 27, 2023
    The project rests on 1,310 rural acres south of Colorado Springs, and it will generate enough electricity to serve the energy needs of more than 46,000 homes annually
    Department of Energy
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    Deriva Energy, an independent renewable generation developer, owner, and operator, announced that commercial operations have commenced at the Pike Solar project in El Paso County, Colorado, providing energy to Colorado Springs Utilities through a 17-year power purchase agreement (PPA). 

    "We are grateful for the support of the local community, state stakeholders, and our dedicated team for bringing this solar plant to completion," said Chris Fallon, President of Deriva Energy. "This is a critical step closer to achieving Colorado Springs Utilities' sustainable energy goals, and we look forward to powering homes and businesses with new, clean electricity."

    In total, the plant has a 175 MW capacity and will be able to generate enough electricity to serve the energy needs of more than 46,000 homes annually. 

    "Now the largest solar array on our system, Pike Solar represents a significant step toward our goal of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030," said Springs Utilities Chief Executive Officer Travas Deal. 

    The Pike Solar project rests on 1,310 rural acres south of Colorado Springs, and during peak construction, it employed nearly 350 workers. JUWI completed the development, engineering, and construction of the project and will continue to provide operation and maintenance services – Deriva Energy will maintain its status as the project owner. 

    "The safe and on-time completion of Pike Solar results from strong collaboration among project participants, including the teams from Deriva Energy, Colorado Springs Utilities, El Paso County, City of Fountain, and all our reliable and hardworking subcontractors," said Michael Martin, CEO of JUWI Inc. "The JUWI team worked tirelessly to complete this project under complex logistical and weather-challenged events." 

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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