A round-up of the latest project news from across the world, including Masdar’s plans to develop solar in Armenia, TotalEnergies completing its largest project in France and Shikun & Binui expanding its US energy portfolio.
Masdar signs Armenia PV deal
26 November 2021: Masdar has signed an agreement with the government of Armenia to develop a 200MW solar PV plant, which will be Armenia’s largest utility-scale solar plant.
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The Ayg-1 project will be developed on a design, finance, build, own, and operate basis and the project company will be 85% owned by Masdar, with government-owned investment vehicle the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) holding 15%.
In July, the Armenian government announced that Masdar was the winning bidder for the project, having submitted a tariff of US$0.0290/kWh in a competitive process.
“We expect the signing of this document to mark the start of a fruitful and lasting cooperation on this and for new upcoming projects,” said Gnel Sanosyan, Armenia’s minister of territorial administration and infrastructure.
TotalEnergies completes its largest solar project in France
29 November 2021: TotalEnergies has launched its largest solar PV plant in France, with a capacity of 55MW that will produce around 64GWh per year.
The solar farm, located in Loiret, comprises 126,000 modules spread over 75 hectares. It was designed and built through participative financing that saw local residents invest in the project and a plan put in place to protect the region’s biodiversity.
“This commissioning contributes to France’s energy transition and is a further step towards our goal of reaching 4GW of renewable generation capacity by 2025. It reinforces our commitment to be a major player in renewable energy in France,” said Thierry Muller, CEO of TotalEnergies Renewables France.
Shikun & Binui adds to its US portfolio
23 November 2021: Shikun & Binui (S&B) has acquired all the rights for the development of the 260MWdc (200MWac) Brazoria West Solar project in Texas from Savion, which is part of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.
Construction of the project began in Q2 2021, with commercial operations expected to start in Q3 2022. The plant, which will supply power to the Houston area, has already signed one commercial and industrial (C&I) power purchase agreement (PPA) and another PPA with an energy trading company.
The acquisition marks the fourth renewable asset investment S&B has made in the US, following investments in Beacon II and Beacon V PV projects in 2020 and a 49% share in the Saticoy Battery Storage Project earlier this year, both located in California.
