Nestle Partners with Enel on Texas Solar Project, Signs PPA

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Earlier this week, Enel North America (Andover, Massachusetts) announced it has partnered with global food and beverage giant Nestle SA (Vevey, Switzerland) to become the sole tax equity investor in a solar farm and battery energy storage project in Texas. In addition, Nestle has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for all of the plant's output. But the Texas project is just a drop in the bucket for Enel's $17.7 billion in active projects in the U.S.

Construction on the Ganado solar project in Jackson County, Texas, kicked off in early 2022. An Enel press release states that Nestle's investment in the project will enable its completion, which is expected later this year. The facility will have a nameplate generating capacity of more than 152 megawatts (MW) for the solar farm portion. In addition, a 71.78-MW battery energy storage system (BESS) will be present, putting the facility's combined power output at more than 200 MW. Nestle will purchase all of the plant's power output, a move that will help the company achieve its goal of having net-zero emissions by 2050. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for more details on the project.

A look over Enel's active U.S. projects shows Texas, which boasts more than $7.8 billion worth of Enel projects, to be a prime destination for the company's project activity. In addition to the Ganado project, other Enel solar/BESS projects in Texas include the Fence Post project near Kerens, about 65 miles southeast of Dallas. The solar plant will use an estimated 397,000 solar panels on a single-axis tracking system to provide 240 MW of power. A 90-MW BESS unit, using lithium-ion technology, will provide power in times of low solar generation. The projects kicked off early last year and are expected to be completed this summer. Subscribers can click here for the report on the solar farm and click here for the report on the BESS unit.

While solar power leads Enel's U.S. project activity both in overall value and number, the company also is at work on some wind power projects. Approaching completion is the Seven Cowboys Windfarm near Cordell, Oklahoma. The windfarm will feature 107 turbines, each rated at 2.8 MW, to achieve nameplate generating capacity of 300 MW. Engineering, procurement and construction contractor White Construction (Clinton, Indiana) is expected to complete the project in the coming months. Subscribers can click here for the full report.

Other Enel wind projects include the Alta II windfarm expansion in DeWitt County, Illinois. The windfarm addition will use a mixture of 2.3-MW and 4.5-MW wind turbines to provide 200 MW of power. Construction is expected to be completed in the near future. Subscribers can click here for more details.

Enel remains in the site-selection process for one of its biggest projects, which seeks to make the company a more vertically integrated power player in North America by manufacturing its own solar panels. Enel announced its plans to construct the panel-production facility last November. In a company announcement, Enrico Viale, head of Enel North America, said, "Recent policy tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act have served as a catalyst for our solar manufacturing ambitions in the U.S., ushering in a new era of made-in-America energy."

Enel intends to more or less replicate its panel-manufacturing facility in Catania, Italy, which produces bifacial solar modules. In its November announcement, Enel said construction was expected to kick off in mid-2023, but so far, no site has been announced. The plant initially will produce 3 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels annually, scaling up to 6 GW as time progresses. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for the project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a look at the reports for all of the projects discussed in this article, and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).