With construction of the Lone Star State’s largest solar facility beginning this winter, Texas has firmly established itself as a leader in renewable energy generation. Enel Green Power North America, Inc. is building the 497-megawatt Roadrunner solar plant in Upton County, Texas, which will become the state’s largest solar facility.
Texas is ranted sixth among states for installed solar capacity, generating 2,465.75 megawatts annually, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The Lone Star State has embraced renewable technology. Wind and solar energy has enabled Texas to attract investors and companies that seek to power facilities with renewable energy.
“The U.S. market is rich with opportunities for growth and has an increasing appetite for sustainable electricity,” says Georgios Papadimitriou, Head of Enel Green Power North America. “Projects like Roadrunner are indicative of our ability to capitalize on this trend, while boosting the diversity of the business both in geography and technology.”
Enel Group also recently started construction on the 450 MW High Lonesome wind project in the Texas counties Upton and Crockett. The Rome-based Enel Group, is a multinational energy company, which manages about 43 GW generated from wind farms, hydroelectric, geothermal, solar and biomass power plants.
Construction on the Roadrunner solar plant is planned for two phases. First, 252 megawatts of solar power generation is expected to be online by the end of 2019. The remainder capacity should be online by the end of 2020. The plant will decrease carbon emissions dramatically with the power generated saving more than 800,000 million tons of CO2 per year.