Enel Green Power North America announced it has begun operating two new clean power plants, including its first renewables-plus-storage hybrid project.
The 181-megawatt Lily solar and storage project, located east of Dallas, Texas, 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-megawatt direct current of battery storage, part of Enel’s installation of nearly 600-megawatt of new storage capacity on the Texas power grid by 2022. Enel also began operations of the 140-megawatt Rockhaven wind farm located in Murray and Carter counties in Oklahoma.
The new additions come as the company embarks on an accelerated growth plan involving the addition of 6.5 gigawatts of new renewable capacity and 1.4 gigawatts of energy storage over the next three years.
“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,” said 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 and storage project comprises a 181-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) facility paired with a 55-megawatt 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 Rockhaven wind farm 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, Wellington Management will purchase the electricity delivered to the grid by an 11-megawatt portion of the project. The clean energy contracted by Wellington 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 American employees.
Enel is currently constructing five other renewables and storage hybrids in Texas including Azure Sky solar and storage; Azure Sky wind and storage; Roseland solar and storage; Blue Jay solar and storage; and Ranchland wind and storage projects.
The company is also adding to its 500-megawatt High Lonesome wind farm and 497-megawatt Roadrunner solar farm in West Texas with a 57-megawatt battery storage system near each plant. Additionally, Enel is building the 250-megawatt 25 Mile Creek wind project in Oklahoma and the 200-megawatt Alta Farms wind project in Illinois.