Enel Green Power breaks ground on 284MW Azure Sky solar-plus-storage project in Texas.

Enel’s subsidiary Enel Green Power North America has started construction on the 284MW Azure Sky solar and storage project in Texas, US. The solar and storage project is located west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Haskell County, Texas and will have 284MW of solar along with 81MW of battery energy storage capability. The project is expected to be operational by next summer.

The project will be powered by nearly 700,000 bifacial photovoltaic (PV) panels, which could generate more than 586GWh of clean energy annually. The energy produced by the facility will be delivered to the grid and will also charge the 81MW battery co-located at the facility.

Enel Green Power CEO and Enel global power generation business line head Salvatore Bernabei said: “Enel Green Power is serious about storage in North America. Coming just a few months after our announcement of the Lily project, Azure Sky’s groundbreaking is yet another step forward toward a sustainable future with flexible, hybrid plants that will generate renewable power while further stabilizing power grids.”

Enel has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with The Home Depot, a home improvement retailer in the US, to sell a portion of 75MW from the Azure Sky project. The amount of energy will be enough to power more than 150 Home Depot stores. The PPA is part of Home Depot to produce or procure 335MW of clean energy as per its 2020 Responsibility Report.

Last month, Enel had started operations at the second phase of its Roadrunner solar plant in Upton County, Texas, with a capacity of 245MW. With the second phase coming online, the overall capacity of Roadrunner solar plant has now reached 497MW.

14 October 2020

IEEFA