North America Solar PV News Snippets

Meta signs solar PPA with Ørsted for solar & storage farm; NJBPU's community solar tender oversubscribed; Shell divests stake in US wind & solar projects; US to help Mauritania become green steel producer; Cubico's Mississippi solar plant online.

Meta expands solar portfolio: Previously Facebook, Meta has announced a new solar power purchase agreement (PPA) for its Mesa Data Center in Arizona. The contract has been signed with the US utility Salt River Project (SRP) for the Eleven Mile Solar Center being built by Ørsted. The Eleven Mile Solar Center is a 300 MW solar farm with a 300 MW/4-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) in Pinal County, Arizona. Excess energy generated by the project will be available to SRP's customer base. Meta said it will also receive power from 50 MW out of the 100 MW West Line Solar Facility in Eloy, along with a portion from the 200 MW Brittlebush Solar Facility in Coolidge. According to the technology giant, these contracts will help it in the achievement of its 100% renewable energy and net zero goals.

NJ community solar program: The Community Solar Energy Program (CSEP) of New Jersey has received over 300 applications totaling more than 300 MW of new solar PV capacity. In its tender launched in November 2023, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) offered a 225 MW block for the development of this capacity for Energy Year (EY) 2024. Winning projects, with up to 5 MW capacity, will be sited in all 4 major utility service territories and support enough community solar systems to enroll about 30,000 subscribers, according to the NJBPU. These can be installed on rooftops, carports, and canopies over impervious surfaces, contaminated sites and landfills, and certain bodies of water such as water treatment reservoirs and dredge ponds. Community solar subscribers will be entitled to a minimum discount on their utility bill. The 2^nd application period for a minimum of 225 MW additional capacity in EY 2025 will begin on June 1, 2024.

Shell cuts stake in US projects: Shell subsidiaries Shell Wind Energy and Savion Equity will sell 60% of their stake in a 182 MW onshore wind farm in Texas and 50% interest in a 180 MW solar farm in Madison County, Ohio. The buyer is InfraRed Capital Partners. However, it will retain 100% power offtake from the Brazos project, and also retain an existing corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with a 3^rd party for the solar power plant. Both projects will benefit from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits. The decision to sell the stake in these projects is part of the group's policy to 'pursue dilutions in ownership from power interests while maintaining access to renewable electrons via select offtake agreements,' according to the Senior Vice President of Shell Energy Americas, Glenn Wright.

US to invest in Mauritania: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy (MPME) to cooperate on clean energy deployment in Mauritania. The initial focus of the cooperation will be on creating the capacity for the African nation to hold its iron ore, instead of exporting it to source carbon-intensive steel from other countries. This iron-ore can then be converted into green steel within Mauritania with the help of wind and solar energy generation. The department said this will elevate the country from an iron ore exporter to a steel producer. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and partnering companies will now explore the technical and commercial feasibility of decarbonized steel production within Mauritania.

Cubico's US PV project online: Renewable energy investor Cubico Sustainable Investments has commissioned its 135 MW DC solar power plant in Mississippi's Carroll County. It is contracted to supply electricity to wholesale electricity utility Cooperative Energy under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Cubico now has more than 750 MW of operational renewable energy capacity in the US and over 1.4 GW across North America, comprising the US and Mexico.