Enel Green Power starts operating Texas solar and energy storage project
Enel Green Power North America has started operating two new clean power plants, including its first renewable energy and storage hybrid project. These new projects coincide with the company’s start of an accelerated growth plan, which involves adding 6.5 GW of new renewable energy capacity and 1.4 GW of energy storage capacity over the next three years.
The 181 MW Lily solar and energy storage project in eastern Dallas is the company’s first hybrid project in North America, which combines a renewable energy plant with utility-scale battery energy storage. The project includes 55 MW of DC battery energy storage, which is part of Enel’s installation of approximately 600 MW of new energy storage capacity on the Texas grid by 2022. Enel also started operating the 140 MW Rockhaven Wind Farm in Oklahoma.
Paolo Romanacci, head of Enel Green Power in the U.S. and Canada, said: “This milestone marks the beginning of a new era for our company as we begin to fulfill our main commitment to the U.S. grid-scale battery storage by combining renewable energy with storage Combining technologies, we are supporting a cleaner and more flexible grid. We are ready to respond to the calls of policymakers and business leaders to accelerate the energy transition in North America. Therefore, we are investing more than ever before to achieve The goal of accelerating growth.”
The Lily Solar and Energy Storage Project is located in the southeast of Dallas in Kaufman County, Texas, and consists of a 181 MW photovoltaic power plant and 55 MW batteries. The project’s 421,400 double-sided photovoltaic panels are expected to generate more than 367 GWh per year, which will be transmitted to the grid and charge the batteries in the same location. The battery storage system can perform power dispatch when solar power generation is low, and at the same time provide a clean power supply to the grid during periods of high demand.
The Lily solar project was initiated and developed by Red River Renewable Energy Co., Ltd., which is a joint venture between Sun Chase Power and an affiliate of MAP Energy Co., Ltd.
The Rockhaven Wind Farm in Murray County and Carter County, Oklahoma includes 49 turbines and is expected to generate 616 GWh of energy per year, enough to avoid more than 359,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Through the first virtual power purchase agreement (PPA), Wellington’s management will purchase the 11 MW part of the project’s electricity that is transmitted to the grid. The clean energy contract signed by Wellington’s management is expected to equal or exceed the electricity demand of all its US corporate offices and the residential electricity demand of more than 2,200 employees in the United States.
Enel is currently building five other renewable energy and storage hybrid projects in Texas: Azure Sky solar and storage, Azure Sky wind and storage, Roseland solar + storage, Blue Jay solar and storage and Ranchland wind + storage projects. In addition, the company is also adding a 57-megawatt battery storage system near each power plant to the 500-megawatt high island wind farm and 497-megawatt Roadrunner solar farm in West Texas. Elsewhere in the United States, the company is building a 250 MW 25 Mile Creek wind power project in Oklahoma and a 200 MW Alta Farm wind power project in Illinois.
