Origis Energy launches 150MW Golden Triangle II solar-plus-storage project

Origis Energy’s Mississippi portfolio will have a combined capacity of 550MW. Image: Origis Energy

US renewable energy developer Origis Energy has commissioned a 150MW solar-plus-storage project in the US state of Mississippi.

The project, Golden Triangle II, includes a 50MW battery energy storage system (BESS), and started producing electricity on 21 May. The project is part of a three-facility portfolio, including the Golden Triangle I project and the Optimist project, which each have 200MW of solar generation capacity alongside 50MW of BESS capacity. This is the largest storage portfolio under construction in Mississippi, and Origis expects to commission all three projects next year.

“Solar energy enhances Mississippi’s economic competitiveness, and Origis is removing limits to a cleaner, brighter future by building the region’s clean-energy infrastructure,” said Origis chief commercial and procurement officer Johan Vanhee. “Golden Triangle II is the first step in fostering a zero-carbon economy across the state that supports our nation’s economic and energy security goals.”

Origis signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) to sell power generated at the projects to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a utility, at what the companies called “competitive rates”. TVA will use the power to meet the energy demand of its large industrial customers, including Meta, which is among the leaders in clean power acquisition in the US, having signed a PPA with Pine Gate Renewables earlier this week.

TVA has announced plans to expand its renewable energy portfolio in recent years, aiming to add 10GW of new solar generation capacity by 2035, up from 2.4GW in operation currently. The TVA operates predominantly in Mississippi, which has one of the smaller solar sectors in the US, with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) expecting developers to add just 2.2GW of new capacity to the Mississippi solar sector in the next five years, 24th among the states.

In January, Origis announced that it had received US$317 million in funding from J.P. Morgan to support the development of both the Golden Triangle II project, and the 200MW Escalante Solar project in New Mexico.