North America PV Snippets: EDF, SDCP, Greenbacker, Arizona

• EDF Renewables North America has secured long term contracts for 303 MW AC solar capacity with NYSERDA
• San Diego Community Power has contacted RAI energy international to supply power from 100 MW solar with up to 150 MW energy storage capacity
• Greenbacker has expanded its solar portfolio by 80 MW AC capacity after purchasing it from Broad Reach Power
• Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has voted against a plan that would have required state utilities to mandatorily target 100% of clean energy by 2050

EDF Renewables secures contracts for 303 MW AC solar: EDF Renewables North America has secured long term contracts with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as part of the 2020 Renewable Energy Standard Solicitation. It identifies the projects as 119 MW AC Tracy Solar Project in Jefferson County, 94 MW AC Moraine Solar in Steuben County and 90 MW AC Homer Solar in Cortland County. All these projects are scheduled to come online by the end of 2023. EDF Renewables says it has developed 20 GW of wind, solar and storage projects across the US, Canada and Mexico. NYSERDA's solicitation is part of the State of New York's target to achieve 70% of the state's electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Recently, NYSERDA launched the state's 5^th annual renewable energy solicitation RESRFP 21-1 seeking 4.5 million MWh annually (see 5^th Annual RE Solicitation Launched In New York).

100 MW solar+150 MW storage project in California: San Diego, California based community choice energy program, the San Diego Community Power (SDCP) has entered a 20-year solar power purchase agreement (PPA) with renewable energy developer RAI Energy International, Inc. Under the agreement signed, SDCP will procure power from an integrated 100 MW solar PV project with up to 150 MW/600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The project located in Imperial County, California will help meet peak summer demand and support grid reliability, the partners stated. Construction on the Vikings Energy Farm is expected to begin in the fall of 2022, with commercial operations expected to start in the summer of 2023. "With this first project, called the Vikings Energy Farm, SDCP delivers on its promise of investing in regional renewable energy projects that support economic development and local jobs," said RAI Energy.

Greenbacker acquires 80 MW AC solar project: Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC has added an 80 MW AC under development solar project to its portfolio after its subsidiary purchased the facility from Broad Reach Power (BRP). Set to come up in Yellowstone County of Montana, MTSun Solar LLC is contracted to sell power to investment grade utility Northwestern Energy and is expected to come online in July 2022. With its acquisition, Greenbacker said it will own around 1.04 GW of generating capacity including assets that are to enter construction, and comprises 773.5 MW utility scale and distributed solar facilities.

Arizona rejects 1005 clean energy goal for 2050: The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has voted against a plan that would have put the state of Arizona en route to achieving 100% of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2050. According to Utility Dive, the plan was backed by state utilities and other stakeholders, but despite that the commission voted as 3-2 against making these mandatory, instead allowing them to be enforced as goals. However, the report pointed out that the state's investor-owned utilities have established their own zero carbon targets 'independent of the ACCs actions' while citing an example of Arizona Public Service (APS) that has committed to having 100% clean energy in its portfolio by 2050. It leaves Arizona utilities to continue to target for a minimum of 15% renewable energy capacity by 2025, officially.