ENGIE’s 50-megawatt Houston solar plant enters service
ENGIE and the city of Houston, Texas recently announced that ENGIE’s 50-megawatt (MW) SolaireHolman solar power plant, which is capable of providing up to 10.5 percent of Houston’s energy,
has begun operation.
The plant will continue to provide power the next 20 years under a power purchase agreement with the city of Houston. The agreement makes Houston the largest municipal purchaser of renewable energy in the United States.
SolaireHolman is located in Alpine, Texas, and was developed and implemented jointly by ENGIE subsidiaries Solairedirect North America and ENGIE North America. It includes 203,840 solar panels on 360 acres and will provide electricity to Houston locations that include Hermann Park Zoo, the Bob Lanier Public Works Building, wastewater treatment plants and several Bush Intercontinental Airport terminals.
“I want to thank ENGIE and all those who worked on this project for this fabulous Earth Day present,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “As the energy capital of the world, it is important that Houston lead by example and show that investing in solar and renewable energy is a critical tool cities must use to prepare for the future. As the nation’s largest municipal purchaser of green power, we are living proof that large, industrial cities like Houston can have a robust economy but also help fight climate change.”
Houston has ranked number one for the past two years in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Top 30 Local Government list of the largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership. Houston also ranks number seven on EPA’s overall Top 100 green power users. The city uses nearly one billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which represents over 89 percent of its total energy needs.
“We’re very proud to serve the City of Houston, a national innovator and substantial customer by any measure,” Marc-Alain Behar, managing director for Solairedirect North America, said. “One of the most gratifying parts of our work at ENGIE is aligning with customers to provide the best value we can. Through SolaireHolman, the City of Houston will strengthen its energy portfolio with clean, low-cost solar power for the benefit of all the people who live and work in this vibrant community. What an excellent way to usher in Earth Day 2017.”
