A strong wind blew down part of a tent used for the ceremony to kick off the start of work on the largest solar power project in Texas, which will cost an estimated $220 million to $240 million.
RRE Austin Solar, a subsidiary of RRE Power, is building the solar farm on 720 acres that until recently had been used for farming. Pflugerville lies several miles to the west, but its extraterritorial jurisdiction extends almost to the farm, and the city has agreed not to annex the solar farm property for the next 30 years.
RRE Austin expects its project will begin generating some power by the end of next year, but the pace of construction will be geared to demand from potential customers.
CEO Daven Mehta said the project, when completed, will contain more than 400,000 solar power panels. He expects the project will generate about 350 construction jobs. The solar farm itself will only have a handful of employees, but RRE intends to keep its headquarters in the Austin area as it develops other solar farms across the country.
SOURCE
