France-based integrated energy company TotalEnergies has started commercial operations at the 380MWp Myrtle solar farm project, which also features 225MWh of co-located batteries.
Located to the south of Houston, Texas, the solar facility features 705,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels to provide adequate green electricity to power around 70,000 homes.
In addition to the photovoltaic installations, the solar facility also features 114 high-tech Energy Storage Systems (ESS) containers, designed by industrial batteries developer Saft.
TotalEnergies said that 70% of Myrtle’s capacity will supply green electricity to its industrial plants in the US Gulf Coast region.
The balance 30% capacity will be supplied to Kilroy Realty, a publicly traded real estate company, under a 15-year corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA).
Myrtle is part of the company’s ‘Go Green’ initiative, to cover the power needs and reduce the emissions of its Port Arthur, La Porte, and Carville industrial sites, by 2025.
In addition, the project benefits from the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) Tax Credit mechanisms and contributes to TotalEnergies Integrated Power’s profitability target of 12%.
TotalEnergies renewables senior vice president Vincent Stoquart said: “We are very proud to start up Myrtle, TotalEnergies’ largest-to-date operated utility-scale solar farm with storage in the United States.
“This startup is another milestone in achieving our goal to build an integrated and profitable position in Texas, where ERCOT is the main electrical grid operator.
“Besides, the project will enable the Company to cover the power needs of some of its biggest U.S. industrial sites with electricity from a renewable source.
“Given the advantages that IRA tax exemptions are generating, we will continue to actively develop our 25 GW portfolio of projects in operation or development in the United States, to contribute to the Company’s global power generation target of more than 100TWh by 2030.”
TotalEnergies aims to achieve net zero by 2050, by building a cost-competitive portfolio of renewables, including solar, onshore and offshore wind and flexible assets.
