AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--7X Energy, Inc. (“7X”) announces the finalization of an energy contract with CoServ Electric and Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. for the sale of solar energy from the Lapetus Energy Project (“Lapetus”). The 35 megawatt (MW) solar project, owned and developed by 7X Energy, will be constructed in Andrews County, Texas, and is scheduled to commence operations in 2019.
Solar energy from the Lapetus facility will be sold in SolarBlocksTM under a multi-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). SolarBlocks is a power block purchasing strategy developed by 7X, with the support of the Lapetus buyers, that enables customers to procure contractually guaranteed fixed blocks of energy produced from solar plants. The fixed blocks of solar, which can be forecasted down to the 15-minute settlement interval, lock in low energy rates during peak periods when electricity can be most expensive and remove the intermittent variability of delivered energy associated with traditional solar generation. SolarBlocks can be purchased by electric cooperatives, utilities and corporations in competitive retail electricity markets.
“The 7X team is working tirelessly to package and deliver reliable clean energy in a way that our customers are accustomed to when purchasing traditional energy,” said Clay Butler, CEO of 7X Energy. “For too long our industry has been trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole, and we aim to change that by making renewable energy procurement easier for buyers.”
Brazos Electric will be purchasing the energy on behalf of CoServ Electric for the benefit of CoServ’s roughly 220,000 electric meters in North Texas. This agreement represents the largest solar energy contract to date with an electric cooperative in Texas and was made possible by the low competitive cost of 7X Energy’s solar power in ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas).
“We want to provide renewable energy solutions for our Members,” said CoServ President/CEO Donnie Clary. “This project helps enhance our role as a trusted energy advisor, focused on the future and passing along the resulting economic benefits.”
Brazos Electric signed onto the contract as the generation and transmission provider for CoServ, facilitating the transaction among Brazos Electric, CoServ and 7X. Brazos, the oldest and largest generation and transmission cooperative in Texas, worked diligently with CoServ and the 7X team to customize the right energy solution, including the fixed delivery of power for CoServ, its distribution co-op member.
Brazos Electric's Executive Vice President and General Manager Clifton Karnei said, “Brazos Electric enjoyed working with 7X Energy in negotiating a solar PPA to procure cost-effective solar power for CoServ and its retail Members.”
CoServ and Brazos Electric were supported in the development of the solar energy contract by the National Renewables Cooperative Organization (NRCO). NRCO provides full origination and development services for its owner-members and electric cooperative customers, with more than one gigawatt of wind and solar projects completed to date, including 45 cooperative-run community solar farms.
Lapetus will be the first large-scale solar facility to be built in Andrews County. During peak construction, the solar facility will bring 75 jobs to the county and inject millions in local property tax revenue over the life of the facility.
About 7X Energy
7X Energy is a Texas-based utility-scale solar developer. The company is 100% employee-owned and consists of a diverse team of seasoned industry veterans focused on the development and sale of renewable energy to commercial and wholesale customers. In 2016, 7X sold over 3 gigawatts of solar projects across the U.S. to fund its early operations. Using its custom proprietary mapping and transmission modeling software, 7X continues to build a portfolio of projects and products across the U.S. 7X Energy’s development, technical, and software expertise accelerates the project site selection and evaluation process, while lowering energy costs and minimizing risk for its customers and investors.
