North America PV Snippets: Buckeye,Duke,SunPower,Waaree,Amp

Buckeye Partners acquires 180 MW solar project: Liquid petroleum products pipeline operator Buckeye Partners, L.P. has made another acquisition in the renewable energy space with a 180 MW solar project in Texas, US. It plans to break ground on the Hill County located project later in 2021, and bring it online by December 2022. Acquired from solar and storage project developer Belltown Power Texas, LLC, the 180 MW facility has an interconnection agreement in place. For Buckeye, this facility helps it contribute to the diversification of its revenue sources. In April 2021, Buckeye Partners along with Nala Renewables said they will jointly acquire clean energy company Swift Current Energy having a pipeline of more than 6 GW capacity of solar, wind and energy storage project (see North America PV Snippets: Clearway, Wells, Morgan, Swift).

10 GW renewable energy milestone for Duke Energy: American utility Duke Energy has reached and exceeded a milestone of 10 GW of solar and wind energy that it either owns, operates or buys, after it completed the Pflugerville Solar Project in Texas, US. It aims to now grow its total renewables portfolio to 16 GW by 2025. In 2020, Recurrent Energy broke ground on the Pflugerville Solar Project with 144 MW AC capacity in Travis County of Texas (see Nomura Lends $75 Million To Recurrent To Fund Pipeline). Duke Energy said it has close to 200 renewable sites across 22 states with more than 1 GW under construction in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas.

SunPower for solar with home electric vehicle charging: US based SunPower Corporation has announced an alliance with electric vehicle (EV) charging company Wallbox to integrated solar and home EV charging. The alliance will allow SunPower customers to choose to install a Wallbox home EV charger at the same time as their solar and/or storage system installation. SunPower will also act as a preferred solar and storage provider and EV charger installation provider for Wallbox customers in regions where it already has installers and further plans to expand the installation capacity in North America, it explained. Together, SunPower and Wallbox aim to meet growing demand for these products by integrating EV infrastructure into solar equipped homes. SunPower shared that both the companies are currently exploring options to develop products and experiences to further integrate solar power with EV and in discussions over including backup power solutions and incorporating Wallbox’s bi-directional charging technology into SunPower systems.

Indian modules for US project: Indian solar module supplier Waaree Energies has completed the supply of its modules for 250 MW Aquamarine Solar Project, coming up in California’s San Joaquin Valley, US. Waaree Energies said it has supplied its 385 W, 390 W mono PERC solar PV modules for the facility. Aquamarine Solar Project is expected to come online by fall 2021. The project forms phase I of what is termed as ‘one of the largest permitted solar parks in the world’ Westlands Solar Park (WSP) which altogether has a capacity to grow to more than 2.7 GW capacity on completion and is being built by CIM Group. Of the 250 MW Aquamarine project, 50 MW is contracted to supply clean energy generated to local electricity utility Valley Clean Energy Alliance, and another 75 MW to municipal electricity utility Silicon Valley Power. Waaree Energies said it plans to strengthen its US base with a local office in California.

$100 million for Amp Energy India: A subsidiary of Canadian energy company Amp Energy, Amp Energy India has signed an investment agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) for joint equity investments of over $200 million in renewable energy projects in India. CIP has entered the agreement through its Copenhagen Infrastructure New Markets Fund I (CI NMF) under which it has committed $100 million to enable the addition of 1.7 GW of utility and commercial & industrial (C&I) renewable energy projects initially. The partnership will be expanded later with additional projects added over time. This 1.7 GW portfolio comprises 900 MW of solar PV and hybrid wind, and solar PV projects and an addition 800 MW in early stages of development. While this is CI NMF’s 1^st investment in Indian renewable energy market, it also helps Amp Energy India in its goal to become a renewable power producer with 5 GW capacity.