Story at a glance
- Invenergy has announced plans to construct the largest solar power plant in the country, with companies like Google and McDonald’s as customers.
- The project is expected to finish by 2023.
The largest solar power project is slated to be developed as a means to provide clean energy to large companies like telecommunications conglomerate AT&T and fast-food chain McDonald’s in a billion dollar project headquartered in northeastern Texas.
The Chicago-based company Invenergy will construct the site, which is designed to have 1,310-megawatts of solar and wind capacity by 2023, will be constructed in five phases, according to the press release. The facility will be dubbed the Samson Solar Energy Center and has already attracted partnerships with other powerhouse names including Google, The Home Depot and Honda.
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“At AT&T, we believe renewable energy is good for the planet, for our business, and for the communities we serve,” said Scott Mair, president of AT&T Technology & Operations. “With more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, our portfolio delivers clean electricity to the grid, helps to create jobs and community benefits, and supports the transition to a low-carbon economy. We’re excited to participate in Invenergy’s Samson project through the largest corporate solar energy deal in the U.S.”
Other local municipalities in Texas will also partner with Invenergy to implement clean energy into cities of Bryan, Denton and Garland.
The project is also expected to create about 600 jobs during the 36-month construction time, as well as bring more than $250 million in landowner payments and $200 million in property tax. When the project is completed, it will produce enough energy to power approximately 300,000 homes.
“Invenergy continues to lead the energy transition, and this record-setting project demonstrates our expertise at a new scale,” Invenergy’s Senior Vice President of Origination Ted Romaine, said in prepared comments.
This is good news for the clean energy field, which has been one of the industries adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With downward trending sales of installments like solar panels due to the coronavirus-induced recession, clean energy saw the loss of around 27,000 jobs in May.
With President-elect Joe Biden set to take office in January, U.S. policy is poised to prioritize sustainability efforts, as the former vice president nominated John Kerry as a special climate envoy to help tackle climate change and pledged to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord.
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