A flurry of big solar and storage project news in the US, with Pine Gate Renewables having a huge project approved in Oregon, Avantus signing a PPA with utility APS for one in Arizona and Arevon completing one in California.
Oregon green lights 2.4GW Pine Gate Renewables solar-plus-storage site
The US state of Oregon has granted final discretionary approval to the 1.2GW/1.2GWh Sunstone solar-plus-storage project in Morrow County.
The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) granted the approval on Friday (6th December) and authorised the developer, Pine Gate Renewables, to proceed with construction.
Sunstone is set to begin its engineering and procurement phase in early 2025 and start phased construction in 2026. It will pair 1.2GW of PV and 1.2GW of energy storage.
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Once completed, Pine Gate said the project would be the largest solar and storage plant in the US. The developer said it is in discussion with local utilities and other potential customers for the purchase of the power produced at the site and its associated renewable energy credits (RECs).
See the full original version of this article on PV Tech.
Avantus, Arizona Public Service ink 100MW solar PV PPA
US developer Avantus has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with regional utility Arizona Public Service Company (APS) for a 100MW solar PV project in Pinal County, Arizona, US.
Aside from the 100MW PV capacity, the Kitt Solar project is paired with 400MWh of energy storage capacity. Construction of the project is expected to start in 2025, while commercial operations are set to begin in 2026.
Combining solar PV with energy storage capacity will provide resiliency to the Arizona grid, while ensuring it can meet peak demand during extreme heat conditions, said the company. In 2024, the state had a record streak of 113 consecutive days with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius), which also broke electricity demand records.
See the full original version of this article on PV Tech.
Arevon powers up 384MW/600MWh California solar-plus-storage site
US independent power producer (IPP) Arevon has begun commercial operations at the 384MW/600MWh Eland 1 solar-plus-storage project in California.
Arevon said the project, in Kern County, brings its operational renewable energy capacity in California alone to over 3GW. It pairs 384MWh of PV capacity with a 600MWh energy storage system.
A second phase of the project, Eland 2, is currently under construction and set to come online in Q1 2025. The two sites will have a combined 758MW of solar PV and 300MW/1.2GWh of energy storage capacity, making them one of the largest solar-plus-storage sites in the US.
Back in February, Arevon secured US$1.1 billion in tax equity and debt financing to support the construction of Eland 2. The two sites have a combined capital cost of over US$2 billion.
The recently commissioned Eland 1 site is contracted under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Southern California Public Power Authority.
