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Avangrid (AGR) to Build 57 MW Solar Farm, Adds Clean Energy

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Avangrid, Inc. (AGR - Free Report) announced that it has started to construct Camino Solar Project in Kern County, CA. These 57 megawatts (MW) solar farm will have 105,000 solar panels and will generate enough clean energy to meet the needs of 14,000 households.

Avangrid has been adding clean source of energy in its generation portfolio and reduce emission from the production process. Camino Solar Project is AGR’s first solar venture in California and is situated beside its existing 189 MW Manzana Wind Farm, which reached commercial operation in 2012.

Avangrid’s Long-Term Plan

Avangrid plans to create a clean generation portfolio and achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon neutrality goals by 2035. Also, it aims to reduce Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by 35% within 2025 from 2015 baseline. To meet its carbon neutrality goal, the company has been adding wind and solar projects in its portfolio.

AGR is currently among the nation’s largest renewable energy operators, with 8.7 gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity. The company is working to add new solar projects in Texas.

Rising Usage of Solar Energy

Per U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, share of renewable sources in the U.S. electricity generation will increase from 21% in 2023 to 24% in 2024 and 25% in 2025.

Per EIA, in the United States, 19 GW of solar capacity was added in 2023 and it is expected that 37 GW and 32 GW will be added in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Technological advances, high-quality solar modules and utility-scale solar units have contributed toward the development of these solar projects. With the addition of more solar units in production mix, EIA expects solar will provide 6% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2024 and 7% in 2025, up from a 4% share in 2023.

Utilities Adding Solar Projects

NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) has been adding renewable energy sources in its production mix and has plans to add 14.9-19 GW and 5.1-6.8 GW of solar projects and energy storage, respectively, in 2023-2026. The energy storage projects will provide essential support to the renewable projects.

Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) operates 1,200 MW of solar in Florida, with plans to add 300 MW in 2024. With this, the company remains on track to bring 1,500 MWs of solar in service by 2024-end and 6,500 MW by 2031-end. Duke Energy also aims to bring 2,700 MW of battery storage in service by 2031 and 1,200 MW of onshore wind in service by 2033. Such solid renewable capacity maximization plans should enable the company to further bolster its footprint in the expanding renewable energy market.

Dominion Energy’s (D - Free Report) long-term objective is to add 24 GW of battery storage, solar, hydro and wind (offshore as well as onshore) projects by 2036 and increase the renewable energy capacity by more than 15% per year, on average, over the next 15 years. Organic projects and acquired assets will further expand the company’s clean energy portfolio.

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