Innergex Commissions Largest Solar Farm in Operation in Texas

Innergex full commissioned the 250 MWac Phoebe solar farm located in Winkler County, Texas. Which is currently the largest solar farm in operation in Texas

Innergex Renewable Energy has announced the full commissioning of the sizeable 250 MWac/315 MWdc Phoebe solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located in Winkler County, Texas. With an average annual power generation expected to be sufficient to power more than 50,000 Texan households, Phoebe is currently the largest solar farm in operation in the State of Texas.

The solar farm is sited on approximately 3,500 acres of land and is comprised of 768,000 First Solar Series 6 thin-film photovoltaic solar panels that will be operated by the panel manufacturer under a 5-year operation and maintenance contract.

“This has been a big year for Innergex in Texas and for our development in the United States”, said Michel Letellier, president and chief executive officer of Innergex.

“When we first announced the Phoebe project acquisition back in 2018, we had a goal to reach a net total installed capacity of 2,000 MW by 2020, but our impressive growth over the past two years has been such that it enabled us to achieve and even surpass our objectives well earlier than expected. We are proud to now have a total net installed capacity of 2,588 MW worldwide, and with more projects in various stages of development, Innergex is in a good position to pursue its growth,” he added.

The total output from the Phoebe solar project will be sold to the ERCOT power grid and 89 percent of the energy produced will receive a fixed price under a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Shell Energy North America. The remainder of the project’s output will receive a merchant market price.

Total construction costs should amount to approximately USD 397 million. The firm has revealed that the project should receive a federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) sized to approximately 30 percent of the project’s cost.

In August, we reported that the firms’ two renewable energy projects worth 600 MW in the state of Texas are nearing completion and expect both to go into commercial operation by the end of the year.

The first project mentioned was the company’s 250 MW Phoebe plant. The second project is the 350 MW Foard city wind project. According to the firm, all 139 of the turbines have now been delivered to the site and erected and mechanical completion and testing are proceeding on schedule. It is expected that the project will achieve commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2019.