Hanwha signs deal with Austin Energy to build 170 MW PV plant in Austin, US

Hanwha Q CELLS has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with state-run Austin Energy to build a 170 MW utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Austin, US.

The new plant expects to serve more than one million residents in the greater Austin area.

Hanwha will build plant on a privately owned site in Pecos County in the western part of Texas.

Austin Energy general manager Larry Weis said: "This action moves us closer to the City of Austin’s goal of 55 percent renewable energy production by 2025."

The site will be located in an area where the solar resource is plentiful and several other large solar farms are located.

Last month, the city of Austin voted in favour of increasing the city’s solar procurement target from 300MW to 450MW by 2019.

Last year, under a 20-year PPA Recurrent Energy planned to build 150MW of grid-competitive PV for Austin Energy.

The new solar project is part of ERCOT’s (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) around 10,000 MW plan, which filed for interconnection.

Hanwha Q CELLS USA chief development officer Laurence Greene said: "The solar facility will be a state-of-the-art generation resource using high-performing and efficient technology that will transform the underutilized site into an environmentally sustainable source of power to the local community."

The company involved in designing, building and managing financially sustainable solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions.

Hanwha also announced that it had closed the financing of a 8.1 MW solar project in the UK.

The plant was opened in association with Bayern LB Tower Hill Farms, which is located in Gloucestershire.

Hanwha Q CELLS EMEA project finance VP José Joaquín Muñoz Osuna said: "We are delighted to announce the refinancing of the third project of our initial UK-solar portfolio with Bayern LB.

" Having successfully completed this transaction with Bayern LB clearly demonstrates that our close working relationship is a win-win for both companies. We will now focus on expanding activities in developing, constructing and acquiring further renewable generation assets.