Masdar acquires 50% stake in solar-battery project in the US

The project is led by EDF Renewables North America.

Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company Masdar has acquired a 50% staked in EDF Renewables North America’s combined solar plant and battery energy storage system, expanding its presence in the US.

In a statement, Masdar said the Big Beau project in California is composed of a 128-megawatt (MW) solar plant and a 40MW/160MWh battery energy storage system project.

The facility is part of the eight projects Masdar and EDF Renewables North America agreed to partner in 2020 with a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts.

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This partnership includes three utility-scale wind projects in Nebraska and Texas with 815MW capacity, five solar project in California with 689MW capacity, two of  which included battery storage for a total of 75MW.

All the projects are online and could avoid over three million tonnes of emissions annually, Masdar said.

Officials of UAE and the US have allotted $20b for the development of 15GW of clean energy projects in the US before 2035. The funding is led by Masdar and a consortium of US private investors under the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy.