A rendering of Canadian Solar / Recurrent Energy’s Slate solar-plus-storage project located in California, US. Image: Canadian Solar.
Following a commitment to develop 1.4GWp of solar together, Windel Energy and Canadian Solar are now to also co-develop 1.5GW of UK battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The two have signed a project agreement for the 1.5GW/3GWh pipeline, which will see Windel deliver the early-stage BESS projects under development through to ready-to-build status with Canadian Solar providing funding and support.
This is a very similar arrangement to the pair's 1.4GWp UK solar pipeline, which also saw Windel deliver the early-stage projects to ready-to-build status, while Canadian provided funding, support and procurement of power purchase agreements (PPAs). The potential for these sites to be co-located with battery storage was also explored by Windel.
“Windel’s decision to partner with Canadian Solar was not solely down to the current great working relationship, but also to the fact that Canadian Solar have developed and supply their own BESS integrated solutions, which simply made them the perfect partner,” said Gary Toomey, managing director of Windel Energy.
Canadian Solar has also developed battery storage sites such as the 300MWac Slate solar PV plant with 140MW/561MWh battery storage located in California, US, and the 75MW/300MWh Mustang BESS retrofit of an existing 100MWac solar PV power plant. These were developed through its US subsidiary Recurrent Energy, with both having been sold to Goldman Sachs Renewable Power.
Canadian Solar and Windel Energy are also developing the 350MW Mallard Pass Solar Farm, which due to being over 50MW is to be classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This requires it to be granted approval by the energy secretary, and places it in the company of other NSIP projects such as a 500MW solar and energy storage park in Lincolnshire being considered by Low Carbon, the 163MW Oaklands Solar Farm registered by BayWa r.e. and the 350MW Project Fortress, which was renamed from Cleve Hill when it was acquired by Quinbrook in September.
Canadian Solar currently has around 400MWp of projects in operation, and nearly 6GWp of late-stage projects under construction or in backlog, and an additional 16GWp of projects in pipeline at the mid- to early- stage. Windel, meanwhile, has over 3GW of renewable power in various stages of development.
In 2018, Canadian Solar sold its 142MW portfolio of UK solar to Greencoat Capital, having placed it on the market in 2017.