Solar Energy
Clenera’s Wapello solar project reaches commercial operation
Clenera, LLC is pleased to announce that as of March 8, 2021, the 127.5 MWdc Wapello Solar photovoltaic project in Louisa County, Iowa has been delivering energy to the grid.
Located near Wapello, the project was developed by Clenera, a company that acquires, develops, builds, and manages utility-scale solar farms and energy storage facilities throughout the United States. In addition to acting as the project developer, Clenera is also providing ongoing asset management for Wapello Solar LLC.
Clenera partnered with RES (Renewable Energy Systems) to construct Wapello Solar in six months, creating approximately 250 jobs at peak construction. Despite beginning construction during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wapello Solar progressed with little to no delays.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the commercial operation of our first solar project with Clenera,” said Tim Jordan, RES Senior Vice President of Solar Construction. “We are proud to make clean energy a reality in Iowa and we thank our team for their hard work and support to reach this milestone project.”
Located on nearly 800 acres, Wapello Solar features 318,000 bifacial solar panels supplied by Risen Energy that are fixed to FTC Solar’s Voyager single-axis trackers, which are optimized for bifacial performance.
The 34 SunGrow inverters work to convert the 127.5 megawatts of direct current into alternating current. Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) is purchasing the demand and energy from Wapello Solar through an exclusive 25-year power purchase agreement.
“We are pleased that Wapello Solar has reached commercial operation,” said CIPCO Executive Vice President and CEO Bill Cherrier. “This is an important source of energy for our member-owners. With our mission of providing wholesale power and services in a safe, reliable, and cost-effective manner, the completion of this project helps meet member expectations.””
“Clenera is ecstatic about this new solar project and the successful partnership with CIPCO that made it possible. Wapello Solar is now Iowa’s largest solar project,” said Jason Ellsworth, CEO of Clenera. “”We look forward to more projects with CIPCO and other excellent utility partners.””