Enel Green Power North America has begun operating two new clean power plants, including its first renewables-plus-storage hybrid project. The new additions come as the company embarks on an accelerated growth plan involving the addition of 6.5 GW of new renewable capacity and 1.4 GW of energy storage over the next three years.
The 181 MW Lily solar + storage project, located east of Dallas, is the company’s first hybrid project in North America that integrates a renewable energy plant with utility-scale battery storage. The project includes 55 MW DC of battery storage, part of Enel’s installation of around 600 MW of new storage capacity on the Texas power grid by 2022. Enel also began operations of the 140 MW Rockhaven wind farm in Oklahoma.
“This milestone signals a new era for our company as we start delivering on our major commitment to grid-scale battery storage in the United States,” says Paolo Romanacci, head of Enel Green Power in the U.S. and Canada. “By pairing renewable energy with storage technology, we are supporting a cleaner and more flexible grid. We are ready to answer the call of policymakers and business leaders to accelerate the energy transition in North America. As such, we are committing more investment than ever before to achieve accelerated growth targets.”
Located southeast of Dallas in Kaufman County, Texas, the Lily solar + storage project comprises a 181 MW PV facility paired with a 55 MW battery. The project’s 421,400 PV bifacial panels are expected to generate over 367 GWh each year, which will be delivered to the grid and will charge the co-located battery. The battery storage system can dispatch electricity when solar power generation is low while also providing the grid access to a clean supply of electricity during periods of high demand.
The Lily solar project was initiated and developed by Red River Renewable Energy LLC, a joint venture among affiliates of Sun Chase Power and MAP Energy LLC.
The Rockhaven wind farm, located in Murray and Carter counties in Oklahoma, includes 49 turbines that are expected to generate 616 GWh of energy each year, enough to avoid over 359,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Through a first-of-its-kind virtual power purchase agreement (PPA), Wellington Management will purchase the electricity delivered to the grid by an 11 MW portion of the project. The clean energy contracted by Wellington Management is expected to equal or exceed the electricity needs for all of their U.S. corporate offices, as well as residential electricity usage of more than 2,200 employees in the U.S.
Enel is currently constructing five other renewables + storage hybrids in Texas: the Azure Sky solar + storage, Azure Sky wind + storage, Roseland solar + storage, Blue Jay solar + storage and Ranchland wind + storage projects. Additionally, the company is adding to its 500 MW High Lonesome wind farm and 497 MW Roadrunner solar farm in West Texas with a 57 MW battery storage system near each plant. Elsewhere in the U.S., the company is building the 250 MW 25 Mile Creek wind project in Oklahoma and the 200 MW Alta Farms wind project in Illinois.
