The Diplomat
Iberdrola, through its US subsidiary Avangrid, has begun construction of the 240-megawatt (MW) True North photovoltaic plant in Falls County, Texas, which will supply clean, renewable energy to power the operations of Meta, the parent company of social network Facebook, in the region, the energy company said.
Specifically, the project will support Meta’s upcoming data centre in Temple City, its second data centre facility in Texas. Since 2020, Meta’s global operations have been supported by 100% renewable energy.
True North’, Avangrid’s first solar farm in Texas, is expected to reach commercial operations in early 2025. During construction and operation, the project will create more than 200 jobs and is expected to pay more than $40 million (about €37 million) in property taxes over 25 years in the state, where the company already operates more than 1,250 MW of onshore wind facilities.
Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said the milestone reflects the company’s unwavering commitment “to advancing the clean energy transition and building a more sustainable future for all”.
“With projects like ‘True North’, we continue our mission to help the country meet its ambitious energy goals, while creating quality jobs and strengthening our local economies,” he added.
Avangrid, with approximately 40.000 million dollars (around 37,012 million euros) in assets, is present in 24 states and manages close to 10,000 MW of installed capacity, of which more than 8,600 MW are renewables (mainly wind and solar PV), and more than 130,000 kilometres of power lines through eight distribution companies in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. Iberdrola has a portfolio of more than 25,000 MW of high-quality renewable projects in the United States.
First solar project in California
According to the Spanish company, Iberdrola, through Avangrid, will develop the ‘Camino Solar’ park, which will be its first solar project in California, a state in which it currently operates more than 500 megawatts (MW) through six facilities.
The project, to be built by Cupertino Electric, will have a capacity of 57 MW and will be located in Kern County, next to the 189 MW ‘Manzana’ wind farm, also owned by Avangrid.
More than 100 people will be employed during construction and the project is expected to be commercially operational in 2025, generating approximately 15.5 million dollars (about 14.3 million euros) in local taxes over its lifetime.
The Iberdrola subsidiary’s CEO, Pedro Azagra, said this project “further strengthens Avangrid’s commitment to developing the renewable projects needed to address climate change, while contributing to local development”.
