Ørsted brings live 460-MW solar-storage hybrid in Texas

Denmark’s Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) said on Thursday it has brought online a 460-MW hybrid solar-plus-storage complex in Texas’ Andrews County.

The Permian Energy Center has 420 MW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and 40 MW of battery storage capacity. It is located on a 3,600-acre (1,457 ha) site that also accommodates oil and gas installations.

The solar component of the complex consists of 1.3 million PV panels with an estimated output that is enough to cover the consumption of over 80,000 US homes. The generated electricity will be used to supply West Texas.

The Permian energy scheme is a legacy project from Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE), which Ørsted acquired back in 2018. Its completion has made the Danish energy major “the first developer to operate the full spectrum of new renewable energy technologies at utility scale in the US - onshore and offshore wind, solar PV, and storage,” said Neil O’Donovan, chief operations officer of Ørsted’s Onshore business.

The hybrid facility, being the Danish group’s first utility-scale solar plus battery storage project, has expanded its installed onshore capacity to 2.1 GW. Together with projects under construction, Ørsted’s onshore portfolio now totals 4 GW.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!