8minute Solar Energy completes Texas debut with 280MW Duke collaboration

July 8, 2020
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Holstein solar project in Texas during construction. Image: 8minute Solar Energy.

Solar and storage developer 8minute Solar Energy has completed its first utility-scale solar project in Texas.

8minute confirmed the 280MWdc/200MWdc Holstein solar farm, built alongside Duke Energy Renewables, has now begun operations.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The Holstein solar project comprises more than 700,000 solar panels and marks a “significant milestone” for 8minute, the company said, as it continues to build on its solar footprint outside of its home state of California.

Tom Buttgenbach, president and CEO of 8minute, said the company was bringing its solar and storage development expertise to “forge a new energy model in Texas”.

“In a state with no solar mandate, and where competition is purely on price, our success with Holstein and our other Texas projects are proof positive that solar will power the future,” he added.

8minute has made a name for itself in the US market for competing with traditional power sources on price. Its landmark Eland solar-plus-storage farm struck a 25-year deal with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power at record-breaking tariffs. It has since taken its development pipeline to 18GW and set about replicating the success of Eland elsewhere in the country. Last month, 8minute told sister publication Energy-Storage.news that the “vast majority” of its pipeline in the US would be built with co-located storage.

8minute currently has a further four projects in late stages of development in the Lone Star state, representative of nearly 1GW of capacity. Together they are expected to generate around US$1 billion in capital investments, while also delivering US$60 million in land payments and US$120 million in local tax revenues.

Duke Energy’s Renewables subsidiary acquired the project from 8minute in July of last year, with 8minute staying on to oversee its development through to operation. A majority of the energy generated from the project is to be sold to Goldman Sachs subsidiary J. Aron & Company through a 12-year term hedge agreement.

Project design, inverter procurement, construction and balance of systems works were conducted by Blattner Energy, and First Solar Energy Services has been signed to provide O&M services under a five-year term.

SunTrust provided the tax equity investment for the project, while CIT Group led a consortium of banks to provide a construction loan, letter of credit and term loan facility for Holstein.

16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 28, 2025
BESS are 'the new player that everyone is talking about,' in Europe’s power purchase agreement (PPA) space, according to LevelTen.
October 27, 2025
Engie has signed additional PPAs with Meta, expanding their partnership to more than 1.3GW across four solar projects in Texas.
October 27, 2025
Waaree Energies has secured four solar module supply contracts totalling 692MW – three for projects in India and one in the US through its subsidiary.
October 27, 2025
US solar technology company Swift Solar has deployed perovskite solar technology as part of a Department of Defence cyber warfare exercise in the state of Virginia.
October 23, 2025
US solar manufacturer T1 Energy sold approximately 725MW of solar modules in Q3 2025, as it continues to expand US manufacturing capabilities.
October 22, 2025
Recurrent Energy, Ampliform and Dimension Energy have announced new financing rounds this month for US solar projects.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
November 12, 2025
10am PST / 1pm EST
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany