EDF, NV Energy sign power contract for one of the world’s largest solar-plus-storage projects

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One of the largest solar-plus-storage projects in the world is being paired with one of the longest power contracts known to pv magazine, as EDF Renewables has signed a 22-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with NV Energy for the electricity generated by the upcoming Chuckwalla solar farm.

Located on the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians Reservation, about 35 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, Chuckwalla is set to be a 200-MW solar project, which will be accompanied by a 180 MW/720 MWh four-hour battery storage system. The project will be developed, built and operated by EDF Renewables.

The project is expected to reach commercial operation by the end of 2023, creating around 300 jobs during construction. With the decline of the coal industry, a considerable source of employment among native tribes in the southwest, the members of those tribes have begun shifting their focus to renewable energy — by leasing land to project developers and by joining the project construction workforce. It is not clear how many of the 300 construction jobs are intended for those living on the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians Reservation.

The 180 MW/720 MWh battery energy storage system that is set to accompany the project ranks among the largest in the world. As pv magazine reported last week, the largest battery storage facility currently operating in the world is the 150 MW/193.5 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia. In America, the largest battery systems under early development are the two set to be built at PG&E’s electric substation in Moss Landing, with one clocking in at 182.5 MW/730 MWh, with expansion potential up to 1.1 GWh and the other at 300 MW/1.2 GWh.

While 20-year power contracts appear to be the norm, there has been a small recent trend of contracts in the 12- to 15-year range — which highlights EDF Renewables and NV Energy’s 22-year contract term.

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