Calpine wins bid to build solar farm on University of Texas land

This 110-megawatt solar farm is in Iraan, in West Texas. For solar panel buyers, Friday's trade ruling is likely to raise costs. This 110-megawatt solar farm is in Iraan, in West Texas. For solar panel buyers, Friday's trade ruling is likely to raise costs. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Calpine wins bid to build solar farm on University of Texas land 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Houston-based Calpine Corp. has won a bid to build a solar farm on West Texas land owned by the University of Texas, the first time the university has offered a lease on its reserved lands for solar power generation.

The university declined to provide any details about Calpine's bid or the proposed lease terms. Public records confirmed that three companies had won a bid, including Calpine, a merchant power company that operates natural gas-fired power plants.

The are two companies that won bids are Recurrent Energy Development Holdings, a California-based developer of utility-scale solar farms and a subsidiary of Canadian Solar and Hecate Energy, a Tennessee-based renewable energy company with operations in the U.S., the Middle East and Africa.

At least one of the three companies signed a lease this week, although the university declined to disclose which one. The other two are still negotiating terms with the university.

UT"s University Lands oversees the surface and mineral rights of 2.1 million acres of land in Texas. While the lands are typically lucrative revenue generators through oil and gas mineral rights leases, in recent years the university has started to develop renewable energy projects.

The university issued a request for solar project proposals last year to develop solar farms with a capacity of at least 50 megawatts in Upton, Pecos, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth counties, all in a booming area for utility-scale solar projects.

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University Lands has already leased land for a wind farm project. Wind and solar projects mix well with oil and gas leases because they don't disturb mineral rights access, said Alyssa Ray, a spokeswoman for the University Lands system.