Upton 2 Solar Power Plant Achieves Commercial Operation
Vistra Energy announced that its Upton 2 Solar Power Plant in West Texas has achieved commercial operations. At 180 megawatts, Upton 2 is Texas’ largest operating solar facility. The company’s power generating subsidiary, Luminant, is the plant’s owner and serves as its qualified scheduling entity with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Vistra announced the purchase of Upton 2 in May 2017 while the project was under development.
“When we announced the project a year ago, we did so knowing that Upton 2 was the perfect fit for Vistra’s integrated business model,” said Curt Morgan, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “Through this project, we’re enabling our Texas retail brand, TXU Energy, to enhance its retail solar offerings, and we’re diversifying Luminant’s generation fleet, as well. This project makes strategic sense for us as a business, and we’re excited that it is officially powering Texas in time for the 2018 summer.”
Upton 2 Solar Power Plant Facts
- Sits on nearly 1,900 acres, roughly the equivalent of 1,424 football fields.
- Consists of 718,000 photovoltaic solar panels.
- 180 MW capacity is enough to power approximately 56,700 average residences in the ERCOT market during normal weather conditions and 27,700 during periods of peak demand.
- Platform for battery storage development and implementation.