AES Beefs Up Backlog with PPAs for Renewable Energy

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington County, Virginia) is riding a tidal wave of demand for renewable energy. The company signed 531 megawatts (MW) of long-term renewable and energy-storage power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the second quarter, bringing its backlog to 10.5 gigawatts (GW) worth of projects expected to be completed through 2025, including 6 GW to be completed by the end of 2023. Industrial Info is tracking more than $20 billion worth of active projects globally from AES, including nearly $8.5 billion within the U.S.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for active AES projects, by total investment value.

In June, AES joined Clearway Energy Group (NYSE:CWEN) (Princeton, New Jersey), Cypress Creek Renewables LLC (Santa Monica, California) and D.E. Shaw Group (New York, New York) to form the U.S. Solar Buyer Consortium, which intends to purchase 6 to 7 GW worth of crystalline silicon solar modules annually, in part to boost U.S. domestic solar manufacturing. The consortium already has announced requests for proposals (RFP) for manufacturers who can commit to a long-term strategic partnership and supply up to 7 GW of solar modules per year, starting in 2024.

Solar and battery energy-storage system (BESS) projects account for 1.25 of the 1.6 GW of renewables and energy-storage projects for which AES has signed long-term PPAs so far in 2022. These projects are expected to be brought online in 2023 and 2024. The company also says it has completed the construction or acquisition of 390 MW of solar projects across the U.S. and the Dominican Republic so far in 2022.

Earlier this year, AES started construction on a $170 million unit addition at the Great Cove Solar Plant in Needmore, Pennsylvania, which is expected to more than triple Great Cove's capacity from 70 to 220 MW; the University of Pennsylvania signed a PPA in 2020 for all output from the project. AES also started construction on the $130 million MacFarland Solar Plant in Dateland, Arizona, which is expected to generate 105 MW. Both projects are expected to be completed before the end of the year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more from detailed reports on the Great Cove and MacFarland projects.

AES expects to begin construction on the $190 million Hardy Hills Solar Plant in Frankfort, Indiana, later this year, and the $190 million Sugar Maple Solar Plant in Croghan, New York, early next year. The projects are expected to generate 195 and 125 MW, respectively, and the Sugar Maple project will be accompanied by a 20-MW BESS unit. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Hardy Hills and Sugar Maple projects.

Wind-energy projects under construction include the $590 million Chevelon Butte Windfarm near Winslow, Arizona, which is expected to generate 477 MW from 156 turbines provided by General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts). AES says the first, 238.2-MW phase of the project, which will comprise 57 turbines, is expected to be fully operational before the summer of 2023 to help meet Arizona's peak summer electricity demand. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Of the 10.5 GW worth of projects in AES' backlog, 3.8 GW are under construction and 6.7 GW are contracted under long-term PPAs, but not yet under construction.

AES also signed agreements earlier this year that will redirect excess liquefied natural gas (LNG) from AES Panama S.A., a Panama-based subsidiary, to international customers. AES Panama kicked off an $80 million expansion of its Costa Norte LNG Import and Regasification Terminal in Colon, Panama, in July, to better supply power plants in the area. The terminal, completed in 2018, is the first to provide LNG in Panama. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active global projects from AES.

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