Texas Adds More Solar Power Because It’s Just Better, That’s All

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The US solar industry hit a speed bump this year due to the abrupt shift in federal energy policy. Shift or not, though, the fact remains that solar is the fastest and most economical way to add more electricity to the nation’s grid. That holds true across the US regardless of partisan politics. Take the red state of Texas, for example….

600 More Megawatts Of Solar Energy For Texas

In the latest news from Texas, the global firm ENGIE has just dropped word that it is developing a 600-megawatt solar power plant in Stonewall County. Called Swenson Ranch, the project will be up and running in 2027, which is just around the corner.

The A-list tech firm Meta has already claimed all 600 megawatts for its data centers under a power purchase agreement, enabling Meta to nail down an attractive price for the clean kilowatts before construction is even complete. It’s the latest in a string of such agreements between Meta and ENGIE. The running total between the two companies now stands at more than 1.3 gigawatts of solar energy spread among four solar projects in Texas, including the new Swenson project.

In a press statement, Paulo Almirante, ENGIE’s Senior EVP for Renewable & Flexible Power, emphasized that the Swenson project can be replicated for other high-level electricity consumers.

“It fully illustrates ENGIE’s ability to design and deliver large-scale renewable projects, efficiently mobilizing the entire local value chain,” Almirante said. “Working with Data Centers and industrial customers, we are a reliable partner that brings competitive energy solutions tailored to their needs.”

Another 400 Megawatts For Texas

Other solar energy developers have also been leaning on Texas to sustain their business. That includes the Boston-based renewables firm Longroad Energy. The company is new to the CleanTechnica radar but it has a considerable footprint in the US, having developed or acquired 6 gigawatts of wind, solar, and energy storage projects since its founding in 2016.

Longroad has already racked up four solar power projects in Texas. Last month the company announced that construction has started on a fifth project, a new 400-megawatt dc/300MWa/c solar power plant in Yoakum County called 1000 Mile Solar. The project will be up and running next year.

Meta has already spoken for the entire output of the 1000 Mile project, too. “The output of the 1000 Mile project will be delivered into the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) grid, advancing Meta’s target to support its data center operations with 100% clean energy,” Longroad explained.

As with ENGIE, Longroad anticipates that its relationship with Meta will pave the way to future growth. “1000 Mile Solar is our seventh renewable energy project in Texas and a milestone project for Longroad,” the company’s CEO, said Paul Gaynor, explains.

“1000 Mile is Longroad’s first project in the SPP region and brings us to 2.1 GW of successfully developed utility-scale projects in Texas in all three RTO regions, ERCOT, MISO and SPP,” Gaynor elaborated, referring to the organization of the US grid. ERCOT (the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas) covers almost all of Texas, while MISO and SPP cover multiple states in the Southwest and Midwest regions.

Follow The Money

The 1000 Mile project also underscores the continued interest of the financial community in the US solar market, regardless of who or what occupies the White House. The 1000 Mile project was financed through a tax equity commitment from the Renewables branch of the leading US financial firm Morgan Stanley.

Despite the partisan political headwinds blowing through the US solar market, Morgan Stanley Renewables is positioning itself as a solar industry dealmaker. “We are excited to partner with Longroad for the first time on its largest solar project developed – a landmark transaction for the company,” enthused Jorge Iragorri, Morgan Stanley’s Managing Director and Co-Head of Infrastructure Capital Markets.

The global financial community is chipping in as well. Longroad lists Societe Generale and CIBC (the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) behind the debt financing for the project, along with ANZ, Barclays, and Key Bank.

CIBC served as Co-Coordinating Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent for the debt transaction. Unless something has changed over the past few weeks, CIBC anticipates much more from Longroad in the coming years. The firm’s Head of U.S. Project Finance and Infrastructure, Peter O’Neill, said as much in a press statement chipped on September 15.

“Our ongoing support for Longroad as they expand their development pipeline demonstrates CIBC’s commitment to advancing renewable energy and the energy transition in the U.S.,” O’Neill observed (for the record, Longroad is owned by the NZ Superannuation Fund, Infratil Limited, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management, and Longroad Energy Partners, LLC).

All This And Floating Solar Power Plants, Too

Another firm doubling down on the Texas solar market is the Dutch infrastructure company Ferrovial. In August, Ferrovial announced plans for a new 250-megawatt solar power plant in Milam County. “Ferrovial will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility, which will deliver reliable electricity to the Texas grid and support long-term economic growth in the region,” the company explains.

With the start of construction expected shortly, Ferrovial anticipates that the new facility will be operational in 2027, adding a third project to its Texas portfolio. The other two projects are an existing 257 megawatt (dc) plant in Leon, and a 72 megawatt plant in the Houston area.

Adding to the pace of solar development on land is the Texas startup Third Pillar Solar, which has spotted an opportunity to populate industrial water supply reservoirs with floating solar power plants. Just a couple of weeks ago, the water systems management firm Diamond Infrastructure Solutions announced that Third Pillar Solar will install floating solar systems on its portfolio of reservoirs in Texas.

If all goes according to plan, the various projects will total up to 500 megawatts. And, in an economic twofer that only solar power plants can provide, the floating solar panels will help prevent water loss due to evaporation, thereby trimming down water costs for the host industries.

“The comprehensive floating solar initiative represents a potential investment exceeding $700 million and is expected to generate up to 500MW of clean energy — all while minimizing land development and helping conserve approximately 15% of freshwater currently lost to evaporation in a fast-growing, water-stressed region,” observes Third Pillar.

Next Steps For The US Solar Industry: Elections Matter

As impressive as these projects are, other nations have already beat the US solar industry to the punch. The United Arab Emirates, for example, has just unveiled a plan to launch gigawatt-scale solar power plants with integrated energy storage in markets all over the world, while China is introducing its massive solar-enabled green hydrogen systems into Europe.

Oh, well. Don’t blame US President Donald Trump for the current state of federal energy policy. After all, he didn’t elect himself into office. Besides, the US electorate will have a chance to set things right for the domestic solar industry, eventually. The increasingly erratic, malevolently incompetent Commander-in-Chief who currently occupies the White House (or, what’s left of it) is scheduled to leave office on January 20, 2029 — peacefully this time, one hopes — and the sun will keep shining long after he is gone.

If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread. Better yet, find your representatives in Congress and let them know what you think.

Photo: Partisan politics and federal energy policy aside, the red state of Texas is still fertile territory for new solar power plants as high-level electricity consumers demand more kilowatts, more quickly (cropped, courtesy of ENGIE).