TotalEnergies Starts Up 380 MW Utility-Scale Solar Power Plant with Battery Storage in Texas

HOUSTON, Nov. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TotalEnergies has started commercial operations of Myrtle Solar, its utility-scale operated solar farm in the United States.

Located south of Houston, Texas, Myrtle has a capacity of 380 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar production and 225 MWh of co-located batteries. With 705,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels installed over an area equivalent to 1,800 American football fields, Myrtle produces enough green electricity to cover the equivalent consumption of 70,000 homes.

70% of Myrtle's capacity will supply green electricity to the Company's industrial plants in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. It is part of the Company's "Go Green" Project, which will enable the Company to cover, by 2025, the power needs and curtail the Scope 1+2 emissions of its industrial sites in Port Arthur and La Porte in Texas, and Carville in Louisiana.

The remaining 30% of Myrtle's capacity will supply green electricity to Kilroy Realty, a publicly traded real estate company, under a 15-year corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) indexed on merchant prices. Originally developed by a joint venture of SunChase Power and Eolian, L.P. (Eolian), the Myrtle project was purchased by TotalEnergies in 2021.

In addition to the photovoltaic installations, the solar power plant also features battery energy storage equipment to meet the need for grid stabilization. With a total capacity of 225 MWh, this storage is made of 114 high-tech Energy Storage Systems (ESS) containers designed and assembled by TotalEnergies' affiliate Saft, which develops cutting-edge industrial batteries.

The Myrtle project, which benefits from the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) Tax Credit mechanisms, will positively contribute to TotalEnergies' Integrated Power's profitability target of 12%.

"We are very proud to start up Myrtle, TotalEnergies' largest-to-date operated utility-scale solar farm with storage in the United States. This startup is another milestone in achieving our goal to build an integrated and profitable position in Texas, where ERCOT is the main electrical grid operator. Besides, the project will enable the Company to cover the power needs of some of its biggest U.S. industrial sites with electricity from a renewable source," said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President, Renewables at TotalEnergies. "Given the advantages that IRA tax exemptions are generating, we will continue to actively develop our 25 GW portfolio of projects in operation or development in the United States, to contribute to the Company's global power generation target of more than 100 TWh by 2030."

"We are pleased to see the project and TotalEnergies reach this exciting milestone," said Heather Otten, Co-Founder and Principal of SunChase Power. "This milestone would not have been possible without the tremendous support of the landowners and the local communities." 

"Meeting the demands of relentless economic growth in Texas now depends on companies like TotalEnergies that are constructing solar capacity to operate during high load hours with the added benefit of co-located, fast-responding energy storage facilities that can smoothly and rapidly ramp output each evening and during events of extreme weather, sustained transmission congestion, or unforeseen thermal plant outages," said Aaron Zubaty, CEO of Eolian.

TotalEnergies in the U.S.
Operating in the United States since 1957, TotalEnergies is focused on identifying opportunities to meet growing energy needs while reducing carbon emissions. With a presence in more than 30 U.S. states, the Company is developing an integrated portfolio combining 25 GW of operated and non-operated solar and wind projects, storage, and trading. It is also the number one U.S. exporter of LNG, a critical partner for intermittent renewable energies.

TotalEnergies and electricity
As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a world class cost-competitive portfolio combining renewables (solar, onshore and offshore wind) and flexible assets (CCGT, storage) to deliver clean firm power to its customers. In 2022, TotalEnergies generated more than 33 TWh of electricity, and had a gross renewable electricity generation installed capacity of 17 GW. TotalEnergies will continue to expand this business to grow its power generation to more than 100 TWh by 2030, with the objective of being among the world's top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy.

About TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in nearly 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.

About Eolian, L.P.
Eolian, L.P. ("Eolian") operates a growing portfolio of energy storage projects and develops and invests in renewable energy and clean molecule projects across the U.S. For nearly 20 years, Eolian's founding management has worked together to build the assets at the core of the company, creating unique and proprietary structures that have directly funded the development of more than 21 GW of successfully operating energy storage, solar, and wind generating capacity across the country. Eolian is owned by its employees and funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a global, independent infrastructure investor. For more information, visit www.eolianenergy.com.

About SunChase Power
Since its founding in 2015, SunChase Power developed a utility scale renewable energy portfolio with more than 11.5 GW of solar and 3 GW of battery storage projects located in MISO South, ERCOT and SPP, including over 5 GW of solar and 675 MW of storage that are currently operating or under construction. Please visit sunchasepower.com for more information about SunChase.

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SOURCE TotalEnergies