ContourGlobal and Platte River complete Black Hollow Sun solar project

Community leaders, project partners, and stakeholders gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to recognise the milestone and years of planning, collaboration, and construction required to bring the 324 MWp (257 MWac) solar facility to completion.

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

For ContourGlobal, Black Hollow Sun is currently the largest solar plant in the company’s portfolio.

Jason Frisbie, General Manager and CEO of Platte River, commented: “This project represents years of commitment, perseverance, and partnership. 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. Today’s celebration recognises the dedication of everyone who helped make Black Hollow Sun a reality.”

Construction began following a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2024. The approximately 1700-acre facility includes more than 500 000 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and uses single-axis tracking technology to maximise energy production throughout the day. The project was developed by ContourGlobal who also owns and operates both phases of the project, which now delivers 324 MWp (257 MWac) of clean electricity to Platte River under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Acquired in December 2024, the Black Hollow Sun complex has progressed rapidly. Phase I, a 185 MWp (150 MWac) plant and ContourGlobal’s first large scale solar PV construction in the US, entered commercial operation in September 2025, while Phase II began construction in April 2025. With Phase II completion, the project reached commercial operation in September 2026, four months ahead of schedule.

Javier Alvarez Canedo, General Manager USA of ContourGlobal, noted: “Black Hollow Sun represents a landmark achievement for ContourGlobal in the US, 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. 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, our EPC, whose modules included panels assembled at their US manufacturing facilities.”

During construction, Black Hollow Sun project supported more than 700 direct jobs at peak activity, with over 70% of the workforce sourced locally from the US, 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 co-ordinate project milestones and secure long-term benefits for the region.

Black Hollow Sun is a major component of Platte River’s long-term strategy to meet the evolving energy needs of its owner communities while maintaining reliability, affordability, and environmental responsibility. The project’s completion advances the shared energy goals of Platte River and its owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland, and will deliver lasting benefits to customers across northern Colorado.

The recent completion at Black Hollow Sun II solar plant in Colorado puts ContourGlobal’s overall US portfolio at 2.7 GW of power generation capacity in operation or under construction, split between an operational thermal portfolio of 1.2 GW across 10 plants in California, New Mexico, and Texas, and 1.5 GW of US renewable capacity, including 324 MWp of solar PV now in operation as well as around 0.8 GW of solar PV and 0.3 GW of battery energy storage systems under construction.

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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/01102026/contourglobal-and-platte-river-complete-black-hollow-sun-solar-project/