Welcome to the August edition of The Renewables Roundup, brought to you by Coalesce's Principal Consultant and US Renewable Energy expert Eddy Maunder.
Watch the video below or read on to learn everything you need to know about the biggest developments in America's offshore and onshore wind, solar, battery storage and hydropower industries from the last month, including:
- Duke Energy sell their solar and wind portfolio for $4 billion.
- The $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act takes a step forward.
- Longroad Energy Holdings announce a multi-million dollar equity investment for wind, solar and storage.
- BOEM announce advance offshore wind planning and leasing in the Gulf of Maine.
- GameChange Solar announce a new 6GW tracker tube line.
- Greenalia makes progress in its solar pipeline.
- NextEra build North America's first energy centre to combine wind, solar and energy storage in one location.
- And more...
Duke Energy To Sell Solar And Wind Portfolio For $4 billion
This month's top story focuses on Duke Energy. The utility giant have announced their plan to sell their solar and wind portfolio in what could be one of the largest renewable sales ever with a predicted value of $4 billion.
Duke CEO Lynn Good said “I believe there will be a robust market for these assets, given that it’s not only operating assets but also the development pipeline,”
Duke’s unit is among the top ten solar and wind businesses in the US but represents less than 5% of the company’s consolidated earnings, according to its earnings presentation.
If sold, the majority of proceeds would be used for debt repayment and avoidance, the company said.
Inflation Reduction Act 2022 Takes Step Forward
In a surprise victory for the solar and clean technology industries, US Senator Joe Manchin and Democrats reached an agreement on a reconciliation bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The bill includes $370 billion in spending for renewable energy and climate measures.
As written in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the tax credit will begin at 30% and step down to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034.
There are also several “adders” for the tax credit depending on the type of organization, domestic product use, and project location. ROTH Capital Partners said the investment tax credit could reach as high as 50% for some projects with the right adders applied.
The credit also includes the “direct pay” provision. This would allow a developer with little or no tax liability to treat the amount of credit as an overpayment of tax which would result in a cash payment refund in the amount of such overpayment being made to the developer.
Longroad Launches Multi-Million Dollar Renewable Energy Equity Investment
Longroad Energy Holdings has announced a multi-million dollar equity investment to accelerate the expansion of its wind, solar and storage portfolio from 1500MW to 8500MW in the next five years.
The US$500m investment was made by MEAG, acting as an asset management arm for entities of Munich Re, alongside two of the company’s existing investors, the NZ Super Fund and Infratil, a listed entity managed by Morrison & Co.
The investment will also support Longroad’s strategic shift from a primarily "develop to sell" business model to one that is more oriented towards ownership.
BOEM To Advance Offshore Wind Planning In Gulf Of Maine
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced that they are taking the next steps to advance offshore wind planning and leasing in the Gulf of Maine.
BOEM are publishing a Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI), which initiates two separate 45-day public comment periods.
The RFI is the first step in BOEM’s commercial planning and leasing process and gauges interest in developing the area. The RFCI is the next step in processing the state of Maine’s application for a research lease.
GameChange Solar Launch 6GW Solar Tracker Tube Line
GameChange Solar announced that a new, 6 GW tracker tube line will begin operations in the Midwest in February 2023, supporting the rapid growth of solar power plants in the United States. With the addition of the highly automated facility GameChange will bring its US tracker tube capacity to 14 GW. The exact location in the Midwest had not been disclosed at press time.
Greenalia Grows US Solar Market
Greenalia is making progress in its solar pipeline in the American market, where it already has over 1.2 GW under development in the USA, to be added to the 660 solar MWs in different advanced permitting stages in Spain. The company entered the U.S. last year via the acquisition of 695 MW of a solar plant in ready-to-build status. This is the MISAE II project. Today in the preliminary phase of construction and equipment procurement, in which the company has already secured the supply of all the plant’s transformers, with delivery scheduled for the end of 2022 and 2Q 2023.
NextEra Builds North America's First Combined Wind, Solar And Storage Energy Center
NextEra along with Portland General Electric have built North America's first energy center to combine wind, solar and energy storage in one location. The Wheatridge Energy Center, which came online earlier this year, features 300 megawatts of wind, 50 megawatts of solar and 30 megawatts of storage.
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The Renewables Roundup will be back next month with more updates from the US Renewable Energy industry. Follow us on LinkedIn to be the first to see the latest updates.