TUCSON, AZ (August 30, 2024) – Wilmot Energy Center II, LLC, an affiliate of Florida-based NextEra Energy, bought a 1,076-acre solar site at Andrada Road and Wilmot Road in Tucson for $14 million ($13,011 per acre / $0.30 PSF). This will be the company's second solar site in Tucson.
The seller was an affiliate of Diamond Venture, and the buyer was Wilmot Energy Center II, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy.
The Wilmot Energy Center, the first 100-megawatt AC photovoltaic project with 30MW of linked battery storage, began operations in June 2023. It was constructed by the same developer, NextEra Energy Resources, on 1,130 acres at 11425 S Swan Road in Tucson.
With Tucson’s newest and largest solar power system online at Wilmot Energy Center, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) can deliver more solar energy than ever before – including when the sun isn’t shining.
The Wilmot Energy Center II project will also feature:
- Photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays generate up to 100 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy.
- A $314 Million Project investment that will create 200 construction jobs.
- The project is scheduled to begin operations by May 2025, subject to local and state approvals.
For decades, NextEra Energy Resources' subsidiaries have been helping fuel America’s economic growth and quality of life and moving our nation toward energy independence. The company and its subsidiaries operate solar projects in 29 states and five projects in Arizona.
Both solar farms will serve Tucson Electric Power customers. Rising from the desert floor south of the city, it is now churning out clean energy while the sun shines—and even when it doesn’t.
The batteries are charged by 314,000 solar panels at Wilmot Energy Center that can track the sun's movement for increased production. On most days, TEP will charge the battery in the morning and early afternoon when solar resources are most productive, then deliver stored energy during peak usage. The WEC will produce enough power over a year to serve the annual electric needs of about 26,000 homes.
The Wilmot Energy Center is key to TEP’s plan to reach 70% renewable energy generation by 2035.
The battery system allows TEP to bank power for the late afternoon and early evening summer hours of peak demand when power production from photovoltaic panels starts fading with the sun.
TEP installed its first two 10MW battery systems in 2017 and plans to expand to more than 1,400MW by 2035.
Power from the Wilmot Energy Center is relatively cheap. In 2017, TEP made industrywide news when it announced that it would buy Wilmot’s solar power for less than 3 cents per kilowatt hour, or under 4.5 cents with battery power included—an industry low at the time.