National Grid Breaks Ground on Third U.S. Solar Project Since September

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Although National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London, England) has indicated it intends to sell its U.S.-focused National Grid Renewables unit, it recently broke ground on its third solar project since September.

National Grid operates energy assets in the U.S. and the U.K., and its renewables unit operates wind and solar facilities across the U.S.

The most recent solar project to begin on-site construction is the Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, Wisconsin, which is designed to provide 100 megawatts (MW) of solar generation from First Solar Incorporated's (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) Series 6 Plus photovoltaic (PV) panels. The solar plant is expected to begin operations in late 2025, when it will begin supplying power to Xcel Energy Incorporated (NASDAQ:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota). National Grid also plans to add a battery energy storage system (BESS) at Apple River.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can read detailed reports on the solar and BESS projects.

In September, the company said its 117-MW, $234 million Dodson Creek Solar Project in Hillsboro, Ohio, also began on-site construction. Kiewit Corporation (Lenexa, Kansas) is performing engineering, procurement and construction services for the project, which is anticipated to begin operations in mid-2025 and avoid an estimated 198,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions every year during operation. Click here to read the project report.

Elsewhere in the U.S., National Grid recently broke ground on the 270-MW Blevins Solar Project in Falls County, Texas. The project is on track to begin commercial operation at the end of 2025, at which time it will begin providing its full output to two different corporate offtakers. A 181-MW BESS will support the solar power. Subscribers can read the related project report for more information.

The company also recently said it signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) to offtake power from the proposed 250-MW, $375 million Portage solar plant in Wisconsin. National Grid estimates construction will begin in 2025, with project operations beginning in 2027. Click here to read more about the project.

Despite the flurry of construction activity, the power company earlier this year said it plans to divest its National Grid Renewables business. As part of its 2024 full-year earnings results in May, John Pettigrew, chief executive officer of National Grid, said, "Alongside our new five-year financial framework, we are also today further evolving our strategy to focus on networks and will therefore be streamlining our business as we announce our intention to sell Grain LNG [terminal], our U.K. LNG asset, and National Grid Renewables, our U.S. onshore renewables business."

That five-year plan includes US$76.5 billion worth of investment through March 2029 in energy network infrastructure, including as much as US$35 billion for system improvements in Massachusetts and New York.

For more information on National Grid's active and planned projects in the two states, see May 24, 2024, article - National Grid to Invest $35 Billion in U.S. Power Infrastructure; for information on National Grid's other active and planned project activity and its latest earnings results, see October 7, 2024, article - National Grid Eyes Bigger Foothold in Growing U.S. Power Market.

Subscribers can click here for a list of project reports mentioned in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Click here for a full list of active projects from National Grid worldwide.

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