US developer and utility NextEra Energy has said there is currently a “terrific opportunity” for wind, solar and battery storage while Texas-based CPS Energy plans to add nearly 1GW of solar, 50MW of battery storage and 500MW of new technology solutions to its portfolio.
NextEra Energy capitalised on the demand for low-cost renewables in the second quarter, adding 1,730MW to its pipeline in three months.
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Thanks to the “terrific market opportunity” for solar, wind and battery storage, NextEra’s renewables backlog now totals approximately 14.4GW, the largest in the company’s roughly 20-year development history, according to CFO Rebecca Kujawa.
“To put our backlog into context, it is larger than the current operating wind and solar portfolios of all but two other companies in the world as of year-end 2019,” she said in a conference call with investors.
Despite supply chain challenges, NextEra expects to complete approximately 4.4GW of solar and wind projects this year, with all renewable developments achieving their in-service dates.
The executive also highlighted investments made by the company in energy storage; of the 1,730MW added to its backlog during the quarter, 178MW is battery storage.
Its Florida Power & Light (FPL) utility subsidiary is currently building the 409MW Manatee energy storage facility in Florida, which will be one of the world's largest battery storage plants and is on track for completion next year.
In a move to take advantage of the investment tax credit (ITC), all the company's planned battery storage projects will be paired with either new or existing solar projects.
For the three months ended 30 June, NextEra posted net earnings of US$1.29 billion, up 13.5% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, San Antonio, Texas-based utility CPS Energy is advancing efforts to diversify its generation portfolio as it plans to add up to 900MW of solar, 50MW of battery storage and 500MW of new technology solutions.
The company is releasing a global request for information (RFI) to assist in the development of a future request for proposal (RFP) that will incorporate non- or low-emitting power generation.
Information obtained through the RFI process will help the utility seek a partner or partners through an RFP process to supplement 1.7GW of ageing power generation capacity and meet the needs of its growing metropolitan service area.
“We invite innovative energy and technology providers to participate in this RFI and to provide their ideas on how to transform our generation sources to power our future,” said Paula Gold-Williams, CPS Energy CEO.
CPS – the largest municipally owned, fully-integrated electric and gas utility in the US – said the RFI “confirms its continued interest” in solar photovoltaic, energy storage, demand response and other low-emitting sources to add more year-round, all-weather solutions.
This originally appeared as two separate stories on our sister site PV Tech.
Read the full version of the NextEra story here.
Read the full version of the CPS Energy story here.
