The Spanish energy firm Acciona Energía has activated its 458MW Red-Tailed Hawk PV project in the state of Texas, marking the company’s most extensive solar panel in terms of capacity.
In February 2022, Acciona Energía purchased the project from a consortium that included Avondale Solar and Solar Plus Development, in a transaction valued at $460 million. The project, situated in Wharton County, incorporates tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules supplied by the Indian manufacturer Waaree.
Acciona Energía also mentioned that the project incorporates single-axis solar trackers, although the company did not specify the specific brand of trackers it will utilize. Furthermore, the company intends to broaden its renewable portfolio, having allocated $320 million to its Union solar farm in Ohio. Once operational later this year, the farm is expected to have a capacity of 325MW.
Waaree will also supply panels for Acciona Energía’s Fort Bend and High Point solar projects, located in Texas and Illinois, as components of the company’s 2.7GW operational portfolio in North America.
Texas continues to be a frontrunner in the American solar industry, witnessing the realization of several new projects in recent months. In the previous year, attorney Winston P Skinner highlighted the supportive Texas regulatory environment, emphasizing the minimal permitting obstacles for solar projects, which he believed encouraged investments in the region.
The initiation of projects like these will contribute to the fulfillment of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) projections, which anticipate that renewables will account for 80% of new capacity additions by the end of the decade. Additionally, the IEA foresees a global addition of 500GW of new capacity in 2030, a promising statistic, albeit representing less than half of the 1.2TW module nameplate manufacturing capacity projected by the IEA to be operational.
