ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Southern Company today announced the acquisition of the company’s first solar installation in North Carolina – the 2.5-megawatt (MW) Granville Solar Facility – by subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. The project represents the partnership’s fourth joint solar acquisition.

The Granville Solar Facility is located on a 40-acre site in Granville County, N.C., near Oxford. It is being built and will be operated and maintained by SunEdison, a leading global provider of solar energy services and a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR). Construction is under way and the facility is expected to enter commercial operation later this month.

Ted Turner, owner of Turner Renewable Energy, teamed with a Southern Company subsidiary in January 2010 to strategically develop renewable energy projects in the United States.

The partnership’s first project was the acquisition and development of the 30-MW Cimarron Solar Facility near Raton, N.M. It was, at the time of purchase, the largest solar photovoltaic plant in the nation. The partnership has since purchased the 20-MW Apex Solar Facility and the 30-MW Spectrum Solar Facility, both of which are located in Clark County, Nev.

The Granville Solar Facility’s output will serve a power purchase agreement with Progress Energy Carolinas.

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