Massive Equipment Orders Made in U.S. for Solar, Wind Power Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The demand for equipment used in renewable-energy projects has been steady and strong in recent years, with supply chain issues sometimes delaying wind and solar projects from procuring turbines and panels. The demand for wind turbines and solar panels was buoyed earlier this week when two companies placed large orders with renewable-energy equipment suppliers--one for several solar projects and the other for what developers are touting as the largest windfarm in the Western Hemisphere, located in New Mexico.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) and Hanwha QCells (Seoul, South Korea) placed the order for 12 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar panels to be supplied through 2032 for use in multiple projects. The deal expands a previous agreement between the companies for 2.5 GW of panels; at the time that that alliance was made last January, Microsoft claimed it was "the first time a company that procures energy is working directly with a solar supplier to adopt clean energy on a big scale." The order will help Microsoft meet its goal to use only renewable energy by 2025 and become carbon-negative by 2030.

The panels will be manufactured at a new QCells plant in Cartersville, Georgia, which has been under construction since early last year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. When completed, the facility will be able to manufacture approximately 3.3 GW of panels per year. Unlike many U.S. solar panel plants, which assemble panels with components made abroad, QCells' new plant will produce the silicon ingots, wafer and cells used in the manufacturing process, as well as the panels themselves. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

But the grassroot plant isn't the only thing QCells is up to in Georgia. The company is expanding its existing panel facility in Dalton in two separate projects, both of which are expected to be completed later this year. The first of these kicked off in 2022 and will expand the facility by about 800,000 square feet, including new production, warehouse and office space. This expansion will grow the facility's existing 1.4 GW of annual production by 1.7 GW. A second expansion began last summer that will add another 2 GW of annual production capacity, bringing the plant's total production to 5.1 GW of panels per year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the 1.7-GW and 2-GW expansions.

QCells wasn't the only renewable-equipment company celebrating a large U.S. order this week. A division of General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts) received an order for 674 of GE's 3.6-154 wind turbines, which will provide 2.4 GW of energy for a large installation in New Mexico.

Pattern Energy Group (San Francisco, California) last week closed financing on the 3,000-megawatt (MW) windfarm and an accompanying transmission project, allowing construction to begin on the SunZia windfarm, which will be located across three counties in New Mexico. GE Vernova officials say it represents the largest onshore wind turbine order received by the company in both quantity of turbines and power capacity. Crews are preparing the concrete platforms that will support the turbines, and the first turbines are expected to be erected later this year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.

According to trade media, the order will be filled by GE's plant in Pensacola, Florida, as well as tower-manufacturing operations in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.

Industrial Info is tracking several windfarms under construction in the U.S. using GE equipment. Nearing completion is the Prairie Switch in Wharton County, Texas, which will use 48 GE turbines, each rated at 3.4 MW, to achieve nameplate generation of more than 160 MW. Before construction began, Prairie Gate was acquired by Fengate Asset Management (Toronto, Ontario) from Triple Oak Power (Portland, Oregon). The project, established across 35,000 acres, is expected to begin supplying power soon. Subscribers can click here to learn more.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the project 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).