EDF Renewables North America has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) to sell some of the power generated from its upcoming 300MWac Bonanza solar-plus-storage project in the state of Nevada, US.
The project will combine PV generation and a 195MW 4-hour battery energy storage system (BESS). Of this capacity, 125MWac of electricity generation capacity, and 65MW of the BESS capacity, will be sold to SCPPA by the end of 2028.
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“Bonanza adds to SCPPA’s current portfolio of renewable energy projects, bringing the total to over 3,000MWs that will be supplied through SCPPA to Southern California Public Power Utilities to support their transition to a carbon-free energy future,” said Michael Webster, SCPPA executive director.
EDF Renewables first applied for permission to build the project in late 2020, and plans to complete the permitting process by the end of 2025. The developer is yet to complete three permitting processes, including producing an environmental impact statement and compliance with endangered species legislation, but the signing of a PPA suggests both EDF Renewables and SCPPA are optimistic that the project will receive a green light from the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management.
The project is also being developed through title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST). The FAST-41 process aims to accelerate the permitting of construction projects in a number of industries, including renewable energy production and electricity transmission, and a number of solar-plus-storage projects have received permits under this scheme, including the Desert Quartzite project in California and the Gemini project in Nevada.
Accelerating the permitting process
The acceleration of the permitting process has become a priority in recent years for the US renewable sector, with the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality proposing new rules to further streamline the process last July.
The quality of grid infrastructure is a key challenge for the global energy transition, with availability of grid connections, rather than political will or financial investment, often the limiting factor for the commissioning of new renewable power.
Alex Whitworth, head of Asia Pacific power research at Wood Mackenzie, told PV Tech Premium that China’s grid investments have increased by 60% in the last decade specifically to counter this problem, and the recent wave of new legislation in the US suggests the country is following suit.
PV Tech’s publisher Solar Media will host the 6th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.