AES Corporation Acquires USA’s Largest Permitted Solar Plus Storage Project of 2 GW

AES Corporation Acquires USA's Largest Permitted Solar Plus Storage Project of 2 GW

The Bellefield project, which is the largest permitted solar project with storage in the USA, has been sold to The AES Corporation by Avantus. The Bellefield project established in Kern County, California, boasts of a cumulative 1 GW of solar and up to 1 GW of energy storage across two phases.

A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been signed between the two firms for the transaction.

“At Avantus, our vision is as bold as the climate crisis we face. Bellefield represents our continued success in developing record-breaking clean energy projects that are at the heart of our nation’s climate goals, and that are absolutely necessary in order for America to continue leading in the transition to a clean and sustainable global economy,” stated Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, Founder and CEO of Avantus. “I am so proud of our team, for all they’ve accomplished over the past several years to bring a project of historic scale to this pivotal milestone. Bellefield exemplifies our ambition at Avantus to lead the industry forward and continue pushing boundaries of what’s possible with technology, innovation, collaboration and persistence. Projects like Bellefield challenge industry norms and show what is possible when we work together to face down the greatest challenge of our generation.”

The said project promises the generation of tax revenue for the community and the county. At the same time, the project is said to create 1,000 union construction jobs at peak construction in its wake. It will curb 2.25 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

At present, Avantus has over 90 projects in the pipeline. The firm has among the largest pipelines of solar and energy storage projects in the US that surpass 50 GW of system capacity.

A few months ago, AES Chile, a producer and distributor of electricity and a subsidiary of US-based AES Corporation, revealed that was moving ahead with its plan to develop a hybrid renewable energy project that will also harbour a battery based energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 3,100 MWh.