Exelon Generation Corp. has entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase the electricity generated from the Exelon-EPURON Solar Center to be constructed at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.

The facility will be developed and owned by EPURON LLC, a subsidiary of the world’s largest solar integration company, Conergy AG. Conergy has its North American headquarters in Pennsylvania.

The purchase is part of 2007 power purchase agreement that also includes the electricity generated at the Exelon-EPURON Solar Center in Falls Township, Bucks County.

The facility will feature between 6,000 and 8,000 solar panels on a tract of land north of the Aker shipyard, and will produce up to 1.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity by the first quarter of 2009, or enough to meet the energy requirements of as many as 200 homes.

At this output, emission levels of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide that directly contribute to pollution and acid rain will be reduced by the equivalent of planting 300 acres of mature trees and offsetting the impact of cars driving as many as 50 million miles.

The Navy Yard project represents as much as a $12 million investment that will create approximately 40 construction jobs and 10 permanent jobs. Together with the Falls Township site, the aggregate project is the largest solar photovoltaic installation on the East Coast.

“With the cost of fossil fuels continuing to rise, renewable energy technologies like solar, wind and biomass are becoming increasingly attractive and cost-competitive,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty. “This innovative solar project will take idle land and turn it into an asset for the commonwealth by creating energy, jobs and a stable, reliable supply of electricity to serve our families and businesses.”

NewsClip: Solar Energy Plant Planned for South Philly

Solar Plant to Go Up at Philadelphia Navy Yard

5/2/2008