US ROUND-UP: FTC Solar bags Arizona project win, CPUC rubber stamps 3.2GW transmission line
A round-up of the latest new from the US solar market, as FTC Solar toasts a 500MW+ project win in Arizona and a 3.2GW renewables-enabling transmission project in California edges forward.
FTC Solar wins 500MW+ PV project in Arizona
10 November 2021: Tracker manufacturer FTC Solar is to provide its Voyager tracker product to a 504MWdc solar project in Arizona.
FTC was handed the deal by EPC firm Moss Solar, which is developing the solar-storage project on behalf of an unnamed US developer.
Based in Maricopa County, the project will also boast 206MWac of energy storage and is set to come onstream in 2023.
Renewables-enabling 3.2GW transmission line linking California and Arizona gets CPUC nod
4 November 2021: California’s Ten West Link high-voltage transmission project has taken a step forward after the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.
Expected to become operational in 2023, the 3.2GW transmission line will connect Central Arizona and Southern California. It’s intended for the project to improve the two regions’ bulk power system, facilitating more solar and solar-storage projects to come forward in the Desert Southwest region.
The California Independent System Operator Corporation (CAISO) is to manage the line upon completion.
Consortium starts construction on California solar-storage project
2 November 2021: A consortium including Leeward Renewable Energy, Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) has started construction of the 100MW Rabbitbrush solar farm in Kern County, California.
McCarthy Building Companies is serving as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm on the project, which is also paired with a 20MW/50MWh battery energy storage system.
First Solar modules are being used on the project, which is to supply power to CCCE and SVCE under 15-year power purchase agreements signed with Leeward.
NIPSCO breaks ground on Indiana PV project duo
1 November 2021: Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) has broken ground on its first two utility-scale solar projects in Indiana.
The company’s Indiana Crossroads Solar and Dunns Bridge Solar I projects are now under construction and are expected to begin operations next year.
Indiana Crossroads Solar is a 200MW array located in White County, Indiana, and is a joint venture between NIPSCO and EDP Renewables North America, which is developing and construction the project.
Dunns Bridge Solar I, meanwhile, is a 265MW facility being developed by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, with the developer and NIPSCO also collaborating on the second phase of the project, Dunns Bridge Solar II, which will add a further 435MW of solar and a 75MW capacity battery.
