ENERGY
businesswire | March 24, 2023
AVANGRID, a leading sustainable energy company and part of the Iberdrola Group, has announced today the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta to procure renewable energy from True North, a 240 MW solar farm under development in Falls County, Texas, and AVANGRID’s first solar facility in the state.
“We are proud to sign this agreement with a partner like Meta who, like us at AVANGRID, has a strong commitment to accelerating the energy transition in the U.S.,” said Pedro Azagra, AVANGRID’s CEO. “With projects like True North, we continue our mission of helping the country meet its ambitious clean energy goals, while also creating quality jobs and strengthening our local economies.”
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with AVANGRID to help bring new solar energy to support our local operations in Texas,” said Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy at Meta. “True North will support our commitment to 100% renewable energy and represents additional investment and jobs for the region.”
Since 2020, Meta’s global operations have been supported by 100% renewable energy. The True North project will support Meta’s upcoming data center in neighboring Temple, their second data center facility in Texas.
True North, AVANGRID’s first solar farm in Texas, will deliver 240 MW of clean, renewable energy once it reaches commercial operations, which is expected by early 2025. During its construction and operation, True North will create over 200 local jobs and is expected to pay over $40 million in property taxes over 25 years in this state, in which the company already operates more than 1,250 MW of onshore wind facilities.
With more than 8.6 GW of installed renewable capacity, including 1.1 GW of solar projects operating and under construction, AVANGRID is the third largest renewable energy operator in the U.S. In total, the company has a strong pipeline of more than 25 GW under development, encompassing solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, and battery energy storage.
About AVANGRID
AVANGRID, Inc. aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $41 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, AVANGRID owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, AVANGRID owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs more than 7,500 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2023, AVANGRID ranked first within the utility sector for its commitment to the environment. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2022 for the fourth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. AVANGRID is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A.
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INDUSTRY UPDATES
Scout Clean Energy | March 15, 2023
Scout Clean Energy (Scout), a renewable energy developer-owner-operator, has recently announced its acceptance of the final delivery of GE Renewable Energy (GE) company's onshore wind turbines for its Sweetland Wind Project (Sweetland) in Hand County, South Dakota.
Scout is owner and responsible for the operations of this project. It plans to install about 71 of GE's 2.8-127 wind turbines. Sweetland will produce over 903,500-megawatt hours of low-cost renewable power annually. As a result, the project would offset approximately 615,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. It would power about 82,100 homes with carbonless electricity as an estimation. The American Clean Power Association (ACPA) has recognized GE's 2.8-127 turbine series as America's most widely deployed turbine. It has selected Blattner Energy as the Balance of Plant (BOP) Contractor. The project would generate huge revenue, temporary construction jobs and permanent full-time positions.
CEO and Founder of Scout Clean Energy, Michael Rucker said, "We are pleased to have received the on-time delivery of the 71 of the latest GE wind turbines for Sweetland Wind Farm," He added, "The final delivery allows for our Sweetland project to begin full construction shortly, and when commissioned later this year will add to Scout's growing contribution of carbon free, renewable energy to South Dakota."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
CEO of GE's Onshore Wind, Vic Abate said, "GE is proud to complete the on-time deliveries of our workhorse 2.8-127 turbines to Sweetland Wind Farm." He added, "With more than 300 million operating hours and best in industry power performance, our fleet of 2MW turbines are helping to deliver cost effective and reliable renewable energy to the regions that need it most. Scout Clean Energy is an important partner as we work to deliver on the energy transition together."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About Scout Clean Energy
Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Scout Clean Energy, a renewable energy semiconductor manufacturing company, provides services for wind project development, energy resource assessment, transmission interconnection, project finance, wind energy real estate and title, solar project development, and wind facility operation. It is a renewable energy developer and owner-operator with approximately 1,200 MW operating wind assets, of which about 400 MW for third parties and over 22,000 MW wind, solar and energy storage projects with almost 2,500 MW projects which are under construction and advanced-stage. In addition, it assists in various aspects of renewables like project development, permitting, power marketing, asset management, operations, and finance.
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ENERGY
Canadian Solar Inc. | March 16, 2023
Canadian Solar Inc., a solar technology and renewable energy company, has recently announced that its three solar power projects in Japan, particularly in Gunma Takasaki, Oita Kitsuki, and Yamaguchi Hofu, have reached their commercial operation in early 2023, totaling about 42 MWp.
Canadian Solar's bifacial BiHiKu modules powered these projects. The grid operators from the respective areas purchased the energy generated from the projects through Japan's feed-in-tariff program. This purchase would continue for about 19 years at the rates of JPY32 (US$0.24), JPY14.49 (US$0.11), and JPY14.25 (US$0.10) per kWh in approximation. The projects would produce about 53,000 MWh of renewable energy. This energy will power over 15,000 households and avoid approximately 24,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. It is delivering more clean, safe and affordable solar energy to the world. Of the total project pipeline, 2.9 GWp of projects are in late-stage development and have secured energy offtake agreements. In addition, it has a geographically diversified utility-scale solar power project pipeline of around 10 GWp.
Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar Inc., Dr. Shawn Qu said, "We are delighted to be part of the green transformation that Japan is going through with these additions to our portfolio. Our teams worked closely with the local communities and governments to bring these projects to fruition. Working closely with the local community to cultivate a sustainable long-term relationship is one of our ESG sustainable development goals. Canadian Solar's Sustainability Report provides a detailed discussion on our ESG goals, targets and approaches."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, Canadian Solar Inc., a renewable energy semiconductor manufacturing company, offers solutions for solar projects, solar panels, PV applications, bankability, solar modules, solar farms, renewable energy, and sustainability. It has been working as a global energy and solar energy solutions provider and solar PV modules manufacturer since 2001. It has conducted successful business subsidiaries in different countries and delivered about 55 GW of solar modules worldwide. It runs solar power projects and plants with the commercial operation, with a resale value of approximately US$1.2 billion. It was listed as Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Tier 1 Module Manufacturer in bankability for Q4 2018. GTM Research named it the Top 3 Global Utility-scale Solar PV Project Developer for 2017.
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