Germany's RWE has commissioned its largest solar power project in the US with 195.5 MW AC capacity with a 40 MW 2-hour battery storage system, contracted to sell power to local utility Georgia Power, and has also started construction on a 44 MW AC bifacial solar plant in Portugal.
Energized through its renewable energy subsidiary RWE Renewables Americas, Hickory Park Solar Project in Mitchell County, Georgia is equipped with more than 650,000 solar panels covering an area of about 1,800 acres.
Georgia Power under a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) will also acquire renewable attributes from the facility.
In the US, RWE has over 30 operational renewable energy projects in wind, solar and energy storage technologies, representing a combined capacity of 5 GW and more.
At the same time, the company continues to strengthen its European solar business and has started the construction of a new solar farm with 44 MW AC capacity in Portugal.
It is planned to come up on some 100-hectare land in Morgavel, Sines south of Lisbon. RWE said it will install more than 91,000 bifacial solar modules and bring it online by 2023. Omexom Portugal will provide EPC services for the plant. Once commissioned, the ground mounted solar plant will generate enough green electricity to be supplied to 42,000 homes.
"Once completed in 2023, this project will further strengthen our already strong renewables footprint on the Iberian Peninsula as well as our global solar portfolio," said RWE Renewables' CEO Onshore Wind and PV Europe & Australia, Katja Wünschel.
The RWE Group is targeting a cumulative 50 GW net installed capacity globally by 2030.