J-Power, Japan’s largest coal plant operator, buys into its first renewable energy project in the U.S..

J-Power USA, Solar Plus Development, Avondale Solar and AP Solar Holdings are going to develop Red-Tailed Hawk Solar, a 350 MWac solar project located in Wharton County, Texas, through an equally owned joint venture, AP Solar Holdings.

AP Solar develops and builds utility-scale solar power projects with a focus on Texas. AP manages land identification, permitting, regulatory, interconnection, engineering and design, and facilitates offtake for each project.

The Red-Tailed Hawk project is located near the load center of Houston, a high-power demand area, and is set to become operational in 2022 after breaking ground later this year. Mark Condon, CEO of J-Power USA, called it “the fastest growing load pocket in ERCOT,” in a release.

J-Power USA has a 6,500 MW power portfolio in the U.S across 12 gas generating facilities, but this will be J-Power USA’s first renewable project. J-Power USA’s parent company is a 60-year-old Japanese power provider with an 18 GW domestic portfolio across hydroelectric, pumped storage, thermal power and wind resources. J-Power is the largest coal-fired thermal power station operator in Japan.

Last month, developers Plus Renewable Technologies and Avondale Solar agreed to sell their interests in a 350 MWac solar PV project in Fort Bend County, Texas (Fighting Jays Solar) to an affiliate of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). Fighting Jays Solar is expected to break ground in the second half of 2020 and be operational by the summer of 2022.

4 May 2020

IEEFA