Duke Energy breaks ground on its 1st floating PV array; Solar PPAs signed between Avangrid & Meta, EDF Renewables NA & SCPPA, Holcim US & Total Energies; Entergy Louisiana seeking regulatory approval to add 3 GW solar capacity.
Floating solar plant in Florida: Duke Energy has started construction of its 1st floating solar power plant in Florida with close to 1 MW capacity. This is a pilot project for the utility as it explores innovative technologies as part of its Vision Florida program. The facility is coming up on an existing cooling pond at the cooling Duke Energy Hines Energy Complex in Bartow. It will be equipped with over 1,800 floating solar modules and cover approximately 2 acres of water surface. The array will be assembled on land in segments and then secured with anchors in the water.
Avangrid gets Meta PPA for solar: Iberdrola Group's local presence in the US Avangrid has secured a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta to supply it clean energy from a 240 MW solar farm in Falls County, Texas. Avangrid's 1st solar facility in the state, True North Solar Farm is scheduled for commercial operations in early 2025. It will support Meta's upcoming data center in neighboring Temple which will be the social media giant's 2nd data center facility in Texas.
117 MW AC solar PPA in California: EDF Renewables North America has signed a 20-year PPA with Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) for energy and renewable attributes related to 148 MW DC/117 MW AC Sapphire Solar Project in Riverside County. Sapphire Solar is guaranteed to begin delivery of carbon-free electricity to SCPPA's Participating Members, Anaheim, Pasadena and Vernon, by December 31, 2026. In addition to the solar production, SCPPA reserves the option to a 59 MW AC x 4-hour battery energy storage system.
TotalEnergies to install solar & storage plant for Holcim US: Building materials company Holcim US has contracted TotalEnergies to install a 33 MW DC ground mounted solar array and 38.5 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at the former's Portland cement plant in Florence, Colorado. It will use single axis solar trackers and bifacial panels. Holcim will procure around 71,000 MWh of clean power from the projects under a power purchase and storage services agreement (PPSSA) for a minimum of 15 years. Holcim says it is in line with the company's target to power all of its US operations with 100% renewable energy by 2050. Clean energy from the TotalEnergies project will reduce the cement plant's carbon emissions by over 40,000 tons annually and offset over 40% of its current energy demand once it is online in 2025. "It's a milestone investment that will decrease our reliance on other sources of energy and shrink our utility costs through a powerful combination of clean energy and efficient operations," said VP of Procurement for Holcim North America, Atl Martinez.
Entergy Louisiana to add 3 GW solar: Entergy Louisiana has filed a request with Louisiana Public Service Commission for approval to add up to 3 GW solar power capacity to its generation portfolio. This is in addition to nearly 225 MW solar capacity that the utility requested earlier this month. Collectively, 3,225 MW of solar power are in the approval queue for potential construction, development and placement on the grid through agreements with Entergy Louisiana, a major step forward in meeting the sustainability needs of its current and future customers, it added. At present, nearly 25% of its portfolio comes from carbon-free sources including nuclear generation. Entergy Louisiana aims to have between 15 GW to 17 GW renewable energy capacity by the end of 2031 as it targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.