Enel Green Power North America begins work on Texas solar, storage project
Enel Green Power North America began construction of the 284 MW1 Azure Sky solar + storage project, located west of Dallas in Haskell County, Texas.
This is Enel Green Power’s second hybrid project in North America that integrates a renewable energy plant with utility-scale battery storage. Home Depot will procure the electricity generated from a 75 MW portion of the Azure Sky solar project through a power purchase agreement (PPA). The Azure Sky solar + storage project comprises a 284 MW1 photovoltaic (PV) facility paired with an 81 MW battery and is expected to be operational by summer 2021.
“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,” Salvatore Bernabei, newly-appointed CEO of Enel Green Power and head of Enel’s Global Power Generation business line, said. “This project is testimony to the resilience of the energy transition fueled by innovation and a steady appetite for renewable energy from commercial customers.”
The energy Home Depot will procure from the Azure Sky solar + storage project will power more than 150 Home Depot stores. This is Home Depot’s largest renewable energy procurement. It will help the home improvement retailer make substantial progress against its sustainability goal to produce or procure 335 MW of renewable or alternative energy.
“Our collaboration with Enel Green Power strengthens our efforts to tap into sustainable energy that’s produced off-site,” Ron Jarvis, chief sustainability officer of The Home Depot, said. “Not only does it expand our energy options and reduce our carbon footprint, but when The Home Depot procures or produces energy from renewable sources, we strengthen the business case for clean power alternatives.”
Azure Sky solar + storage’s nearly 700,000 PV bifacial panels are expected to generate over 586 GWh each year. The battery storage system will be capable of storing the power generated by the photovoltaic panels while also providing services to enhance grid flexibility.
Enel Green Power, a subsidiary of the Enel Group, is expected to install around 1 GW of new utility-scale wind and solar projects per year. Other Enel Green Power construction projects across the United States and Canada include the Lily solar and storage project in Texas; the 236.5 MW White Cloud wind project in Missouri; the 299 MW Aurora wind project in North Dakota and a 199 MW expansion of the Cimarron Bend wind farm in Kansas.
