Also on the rise: FP&L installs the first components on its 900 MWh BESS project, and Canadian Solar inks a deal with Santander to fund its EMEA pipeline.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Greengate Power Corp. said they have started construction on the $570 million Travers Solar farm, a 465 MW solar PV project in Alberta that will be one of the largest in Canada. Travers Solar represents CIP’s first investment in Canada and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022.
Jinko Solar Canada will supply the monocrystalline bifacial solar panels and PCL Construction will be responsible for construction. Amazon signed a corporate power purchase agreement to off-take up to 400 MW from the project.
CIP, on behalf of the Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV) fund, will fund the construction and operation. Greengate has retained an ongoing economic interest in the project and will continue to manage local stakeholder relations throughout its construction and operation.
FP&L starts Manatee BESS install
Florida Power & Light said that crews installed the first battery storage components at the FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center, which will be one the largest solar-powered battery storage facilities in the world.
The center is expected to begin serving customers later this year. With 409 MW of output and 900 MWh of capacity, the energy storage system will be able to power the equivalent of 329,000 homes for more than two hours.
The newly installed storage container is the first of 132 units that will ultimately be installed onsite. Each unit weighs approximately 38 tons, is roughly 36 feet long by 11 feet in height and width and will hold roughly 400 battery modules. The battery modules will store energy produced by the neighboring FPL Manatee Solar Energy Center.
Canadian Solar adds finance for EMEA expansion
Canadian Solar said it secured a €50 million ($60 million) bilateral corporate facility with Banco Santander to support the company’s project development pipeline in the Europe, Middle East and Africa.
This is the second facility between Canadian Solar’s European unit and Santander over the past year. The new facility is composed of a term loan and a revolving credit facility of equal amounts. This structure provides Canadian Solar with a flexible financial instrument to execute growth plans as well as manage short term cash needs at favorable terms.
As of the first quarter of 2021, Canadian Solar had a nearly 4 GW solar development pipeline in EMEA, specifically in Italy, Spain, the U.K., France, Poland, Netherlands, Israel, and South Africa. The company also has more that 1 GWh of storage projects in EMEA.
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