Mitsui unit to buy power from big SB Energy solar project in Texas

SB Energy, a renewables platform of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp (TYO:9984), has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a subsidiary of fellow-Japanese trader Mitsui & Co Ltd (TYO:8031), securing an off-taker for a portion of the 418-MWp Juno solar farm in Texas.

Juno, located in Borden County, will deliver some of its power to Mitsui’s Houston, Texas-based energy marketing and services business Mitsui and Co Energy Marketing and Services USA Inc (MEMS), under the contract.

Announcing the PPA in a press release on Friday last week, SB Energy said that Juno is due to start full commercial ramp-up this month.

The Juno plant will also provide electricity to Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), which was named as one of two off-takers in SB Energy's announcement in late 2019.

At the time, the company said it had agreed to acquire a 1.7-GW solar portfolio of five projects, including Juno, in Texas and California.

As of late May 2021, SB Energy closed the financing for all of the projects and initiated construction.

Juno is the first to achieve commercial operations, and will be followed by the remaining four over the next seven months, SB Energy added.

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