EE North America, a subsidiary of the Danish renewable energy company European Energy, says it will be developing 10 GW of renewable energy in the United States by 2026.

EE North America recently opened a new office in Austin, Texas, to support its U.S. development pipeline. The company has purchased over 7,000 acres of land to develop its first U.S. solar projects, including 1 GW of solar capacity in Texas and additional projects in the Western United States.

“We are excited to expand our renewable energy project development expertise into the United States. European Energy views the U.S. as a critical market for solar and wind power, as well as technologies like Power-to-X that will be essential solutions in decarbonizing the hardest-to-abate sectors of the economy,” says Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of European Energy. “Our vision is to enable the transition to clean energy, and our ambitious investment plans for the U.S. are an essential part of that journey.”

EE North America develops, finances, builds and operates wind and solar farms and was one of the first companies in the world to introduce Power-to-X technology.

“We have the expertise, partnerships and global track record to deliver fully integrated clean energy systems that enable cross-sectoral decarbonization, while also creating new American jobs and ensuring local communities benefit for generations to come,” states Lorena Ciciriello, CEO of EE North America. “EE North America’s energy solutions are commercially mature and financially viable today, and we look forward to additional partnerships as we make the U.S. a core part of our future growth story.”

The post EE North America Plans 10 GW of U.S. Renewable Energy Projects by 2026 appeared first on Solar Industry.

Greenbacker Capital Management, a renewable energy asset manager, has purchased, through an affiliated investment vehicle, a 3.9 MW DC to-be-constructed solar farm from Sun Tribe Development, a clean energy developer in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Wood Brothers Road Solar project is Greenbacker’s first clean energy asset in Virginia. It has a long-term power purchase agreement in place to sell energy, capacity, ancillary services and renewable energy credits to an investment-grade utility.

The solar project will be located on a portion of an active soybean farm in Middlesex County, where it’s slated to reach commercial operation in the first half of 2024.

“We’re proud to expand Greenbacker’s fleet of renewables projects into new territory with our first clean energy asset in Virginia,” says Mehul Mehta, CIO of Greenbacker. “Collaborating with Sun Tribe’s solar development experts has led to a great example of a win-win project that will deliver cheaper clean power to Virginia, while making responsible dual use of the farmland it sits on.”

The acquisition represents Greenbacker’s first clean energy collaboration with Sun Tribe, a developer with over 100 renewables projects in Virginia.

“As a Virginia-based company, the transition of the energy economy occurring in the Commonwealth is something we’re extremely proud to be a part of,” states Danny Van Clief, CEO of Sun Tribe Development. “Landowners, local governments and energy buyers put their trust in us to help them participate meaningfully in that transition. When our work is complete and meets the standards of an elite owner-operator such as Greenbacker, we feel we’ve earned that trust.”

The post Greenbacker Acquires Virginia Solar Farm from Sun Tribe appeared first on Solar Industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to fund a $32 million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law program supporting front-end engineering design (FEED) studies to produce rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals and materials (CMMs) from domestic coal-based resources.

Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies – such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells – that will help the nation reach the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Converting coal production waste into components of clean energy technology can create good-paying jobs in communities that have historically produced fossil energy fuels and power.  

“The president’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering an important opportunity for American leadership to produce critical minerals and materials – the very components needed to develop clean energy technologies,” states U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “By producing rare earth elements and critical minerals here at home, we’ll create good-paying jobs while enhancing national security and securing the supply chains we need to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

The United States currently imports more than 80% of its rare earth elements from offshore suppliers to produce clean energy technologies and other indispensable products that we rely on every day such as smart phones, computers and medical equipment. Across the country, there are billions of tons of coal waste and ash, acid mine drainage, and discharged water. Fortunately, these waste streams from mining, energy production and related activities contain a wide variety of valuable rare earth elements and other critical minerals that can be produced and used to build clean energy technologies, while helping to create healthier environments for communities across the country. 

To help build a domestic supply chain critical to the U.S. economy and national security, this funding will produce FEED studies that will accelerate the application of extraction and processing technologies for producing critical minerals from our abundant national sources of coal and coal by-products. FEED studies are detailed engineering and cost studies for specific facilities from real-world feedstocks, that will identify risks, costs and plans for projects to develop technologies that produce REEs and other CMMs from domestic coal-based resources and associated by-products, such as coal ash, mine waste and acid mine drainage. This effort will further enable greater opportunities for the development of large-scale pilot or demonstration facilities across the country.  

Since January 2021, DOE has invested $25 million in 21 projects in Appalachia, the Gulf Coast, and other West and Midwest locations to support the production of rare earth elements and critical minerals in traditional fossil fuel-producing communities across the country. DOE also recently announced up to $156 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a first-of-a-kind facility to extract and separate REEs and critical minerals from unconventional sources like mining waste. This funding will help expand upon these efforts and create new opportunities to remediate land and water while generating REE necessary for a clean energy economy. 

Applicants will be required to carefully consider societal impacts and benefits to impacted workers and communities at local and regional levels, including emphasizing community and labor engagement, the creation of high-quality jobs that are broadly accessible with pathways to unionization, and avoiding the imposition of additional burdens on already overburdened communities through implementation of the Justice40 initiative.

DOE expects to issue the Funding Opportunity Announcement in January 2023. This effort is managed by DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains and Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

Image: Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

The post DOE Increases Funding to Study Domestic Production for Critical Minerals for Solar Panels appeared first on Solar Industry.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and its portfolio company Primergy Solar have sold a minority equity stake in the $1.2 billion Gemini Solar + Storage project outside of Las Vegas to APG, a large pension asset manager in the Netherlands.

APG has agreed to acquire a 49% equity ownership in the project on behalf of its pension fund client ABP.

Earlier this year, Quinbrook and Primergy began seeking equity partners for Gemini, a 690 MW AC solar plus 1,416 MWh battery energy storage facility. APG is an investor in U.S. renewables and has several direct investments in utility-scale solar and storage assets in the U.S. Gemini will be APG’s largest single solar + storage investment to date. Once complete and operational in 2023, Gemini is expected to generate enough clean energy to power more than 400,000 homes during peak periods.

Gemini recently closed a $1.9 billion tax equity and debt financing led by Bank of America, Truist, KeyBanc, MUFG and NORD/LB. Truist Securities also advised Quinbrook and Primergy on the transaction.

“We are very excited to welcome APG as a partner to Quinbrook and Primergy as we advance construction of such a milestone project for U.S. clean energy,” says David Scaysbrook, co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook.

“Given the scale and impact of Gemini, we felt APG was an exemplary partner for us that is differentiated by its sophisticated approach to the Gemini project and to the US renewables market more generally. Our Primergy team will continue to manage the construction and operational phases of Gemini with some exciting milestones coming up as the mammoth Gemini Project takes shape.”

The post APG Buys Share in 690 MW Gemini Solar Project from Quinbrook, Primergy appeared first on Solar Industry.