The West of the Pecos solar project, located in Reeves County, Texas, is spread across on more than 700 acres of land
RWE's West of the Pecos solar project in Reeves County, Texas. (Credit: RWE Renewables).
RWE has begun commercial operations on its 100MW West of the Pecos solar project, located in Reeves County, Texas.
Located 75miles (120.7km) southwest of Midland-Odessa, the solar plant is spread across on more than 700 acres of land leased from Texas Pacific Land Trust and Texas General Land Office within the county and is powered by nearly 350,000 solar modules.
RWE Renewables CEO Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath said: “The completion of our largest solar project in the U.S. is another good example of RWE’s continued success in the U.S. market and our effort to diversify our portfolio across technologies. With a development pipeline of more than 10 GW our strategy for renewables in the U.S. is geared for growth.
“A very big thank you to all involved employees and partners, who made an excellent job in the smooth execution of this project. West of the Pecos underscores our commitment to being the partner of choice for the transition to a lower-carbon future.”
West of the Pecos solar project is first for RWE in Texas
It is the first project for RWE in the state and is a latest expansion of its growing footprint in the US. In May 2018, the project secured a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for 50MW with SK E&S LNG, a SK E&S Co, a South Korean energy company.
As per the company, bringing the solar project online is part of its strong growth ambition in renewables business. The company provides an annual net capital expenditure for renewables of €1.5bn ($1.68bn).
Last November, RWE Renewables had entered into a 30-year PPA with Georgia Power, under which RWE’s 195.5MW Broken Spoke Solar, a project coupled with 40 MW 2-hour battery energy storage device, will start supplying power in 2021.
The solar project, spread over an area of more than 1,575 acres, will be located in Mitchell County, Georgia.