Black Hollow Sun solar project completed

SEVERANCE — London-based power producer ContourGlobal Ltd. and the Platte River Power Authority celebrated the completion of Phase II of the 1,700-acre Black Hollow Sun project near Severance Wednesday, bringing Northern Colorado’s largest solar project fully online.

Community leaders, project partners and stakeholders gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to recognize the milestone and years of planning, collaboration and construction required to bring the 324-peak-megawatt solar facility to completion.

The complex is expected to generate approximately 608 gigawatts per hour of clean electricity per year, enough to power more than 73,000 homes and businesses across Platte River’s owner communities of Fort Collins, Estes Park, Longmont and Loveland.

Antonio Cammisecra, president and CEO of 21-year-old ContourGlobal, symbolically marked the completion of installation by placing the final panel in March. Black Hollow Sun is the largest solar plant in the company’s portfolio.

“This project represents years of commitment, perseverance and partnership,” Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO of Platte River, said at the ceremony. “From project selection in 2019 through global supply-chain disruptions, inflationary pressures and construction challenges, our teams remained focused on delivering a resource that advances our shared energy goals while supporting reliability and affordability for our owner communities.”

Wednesday’s celebration, he said, “recognizes the dedication of everyone who helped make Black Hollow Sun a reality.”

Construction by Irvine, California-based Qcells USA Corp. began following a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2024. ContourGlobal acquired Qcells’ solar-energy portfolio that includes the Black Hollow Solar array in December 2024, and installation began in September 2025.

The facility includes more than 500,000 photovoltaic solar panels and uses single-axis tracking technology to maximize energy production throughout the day. Power is being supplied to PRPA under a long-term purchase agreement.

The project’s first phase, located along Weld County Road 90, entered commercial operation in September 2025 as ContourGlobal’s first large-scale solar photovoltaic construction in the United States. Phase II began construction in April 2025. Panel installation at Phase II, just to the south along Weld County Road 23, was completed four months ahead of schedule, ContourGlobal officials said.

“Black Hollow Sun represents a landmark achievement for ContourGlobal in the United States, our largest operating solar complex company-wide, and a true example of how American manufacturing, local partnerships and long-term community engagement can come together to deliver reliable, affordable clean energy at scale,” said Javier Alvarez Canedo, general manager ContourGlobal in the United States. “With the strong, long-term partnership with Platte River, this project stands as a genuine team effort made possible thanks to the contribution of many professionals and key partners such as Hanwha Qcells, whose modules included panels assembled at their U.S. manufacturing facilities.”

During construction, the Black Hollow Sun project supported more than 700 direct jobs at peak activity, with more than 70% of the workforce sourced locally from the United States, including many workers from the Denver and Fort Collins areas.

ContourGlobal worked closely with Severance town authorities, Weld County officials and local residents to ensure the project aligned with community expectations and values, while maintaining close collaboration with Platte River to coordinate project milestones and secure long-term benefits for the region.

The recent completion at Black Hollow Sun puts ContourGlobal’s overall U.S. portfolio at 2.7 gigawatts of power generation capacity in operation or under construction, split between an operational thermal portfolio of 1.2 gigawatts across 10 plants in California, New Mexico and Texas, and 1.5 gigawatts of U.S. renewable capacity.

Share on Facebook on LinkedIn