ENR 2023 Top Owners Sourcebook: Texas Solar Developer Picks Bechtel

Bechtel also is building the 272-MW Cutlass Solar 2 project for the developer in Fort Bend County, Texas.
Credit: Sabanci Renewables

Sabanci Renewables

Turkish developer picks Bechtel for new Texas solar plant

Turkey-based Sabanci Renewables selected Bechtel as EPC contractor for the 232-MW Oriana solar energy project in Victoria County, Texas, with construction set to begin in early 2024 and finish in 2025.

The project, which Sabanci bought in October from Advanced Power AG, features bifacial solar panels that absorb sunlight on both sides and includes a 60-MW energy storage plant. Bechtel also is building the 272-MW Cutlass Solar 2 project in Fort Bend County, Texas, for Sabanci, which the developer also acquired from Advanced Power last year. It is expected to complete in mid 2024.

The firms did not disclose costs of the projects, but Bechtel Enterprises, the contractor’s project development and financing arm, said it “was instrumental in the development of the Cutlass Solar Two project.”

Sabanci Holdings, parent of the developer, plans to expand its U.S. investments in renewable power to 1 GW by 2025. CEO Cenk Aiper said it plans to invest in utility scale solar and onshore wind and battery projects in Texas, and in two large regional transmission markets.

Sabanci's U.S. investments had been in industrial and building materials sectors. “Success in these sectors led us to widen our investments,” he said. T

The company also has stakes in four energy investment funds and start-ups in the U.S., including MIT’s Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Quaise Energy, which specializes in deep geothermal drilling.

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Longroad Energy

Developer picks McCarthy to build Arizona solar-battery plant

Longroad Energy, a Massachusetts renewable energy developer, has closed financing and started construction of Sun Streams 4, a 377-MW solar plant and 300-MW alternating current battery energy storage system project in Maricopa County, Ariz., it said Oct. 26.

Expected to begin operating in mid-2025, it is the company's largest such facility, said Longroad.

McCarthy Building Cos., named as EPC contractor, also developed Sun Streams 2 for Longroad and is building Sun Streams 3. Longroad has signed a power purchase agreement with Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest electric utility.

The developer said it will meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship mandates under new federal law to gain maximum project tax credits. Project investments were not disclosed.

Epsilon

India firm will build $650M US battery component plant

Epsilon Advanced Materials, which said it is India's leading battery materials company, plans to build a $650-million, 1.5-million-sq-ft graphite anode production plant in Brunswick County, N.C.

When operating, the facility will use unspecified green technologies to produce high-capacity anode materials for electric vehicle batteries, the firm said.

It plans to break ground in 2024, start production in 2026 and reach 50,000-ton-per-year capacity in 2031.

Mary B. Powers has reported on engineering and construction issues in the global energy and environmental sectors for more than 30 years from Washington, D.C. and Birmingham, Ala. She formerly wrote for the Platt's group of energy sector publications under McGraw Hill and S&P Global that included Inside Energy and Megawatt Daily, and was state editor for the Lexington, Ky., Herald Leader. Mary has a master’s degree in journalism from The American University.

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