Enel Green Power started operations at the second phase of its Roadrunner solar plant in Upton County, Texas (245 MW). The overall 497 MW project is the largest operational solar farm in Texas and the company’s largest in the United States.
The plant’s 1.2 million bifacial photovoltaic (PV) panels will be able to generate approximately 1.2 TWh annually, avoiding the emission of over 792,000 tons of CO2 per year. The project is expected to generate approximately $60 million in new tax revenue for the local community over its lifetime.
“Our engineering and construction team executed on a project of monumental scale in record time, notwithstanding today’s ongoing challenges,” said Georgios Papadimitriou, Head of Enel Green Power North America. “Enel Green Power has firmly established itself as a leader in large-scale solar generation in North America and, with a portfolio that now totals over 6 GW of renewable capacity, our strategy of steady growth in the U.S. and Canada continues apace.”
PPA details
Roadrunner will sell its energy in a 65 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Mondelēz International and a 70 MW PPA with The Clorox Company. The agreement is Mondelēz International’s largest renewable energy partnership and enables the global leader in snacking to make substantial progress against its goal to reduce its absolute CO2 emissions from manufacturing by 15 percent by 2020.
The PPA with The Clorox Company represents about half of Clorox’s 100 percent renewable electricity goal in its operations in the U.S. and Canada and is expected to help Clorox accelerate achieving its goal in 2021, four years ahead of the company’s original plan.
What’s next for Enel
Other Enel Green Power construction projects across the U.S. and Canada include the 181 MW Lily solar + storage project in Texas, the 236.5 MW White Cloud wind project in Missouri, the 299 MW Aurora wind project in North Dakota and a 199 MW expansion of the Cimarron Bend wind farm in Kansas.
— Solar Builder magazine
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