Canadian Solar Inc. announced today that Recurrent Energy, LLC has signed a power purchase agreement with Dallas-based Fortune 100 oil and gas pipeline company, Energy Transfer. This PPA represents Energy Transfer's first-ever dedicated solar contract.
"Corporations are increasingly purchasing solar energy for a variety of reasons—sometimes environmental—but cost is always a key consideration. Insiders of the renewable energy industry know well that solar PPAs often help corporations lock in low-cost electricity prices to power their operations. However, it is rewarding in 2019 to also see valued partners from the traditional energy sector like Energy Transfer view a purchase of electricity from high quality Canadian Solar assets like the Maplewood 2 project as a financially sensible decision," said Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman at Canadian Solar. "We are honored to partner with our respected colleagues at Energy Transfer on this marquee transaction."
"The PPA made economic sense for us," said David Coker, vice president of Power Optimization at Energy Transfer. "We are always focused on operating our facilities safely and efficiently, and while we mainly rely on electrical energy powered by natural gas, we do use a diversified mix of energy sources when it makes economic sense to do so. In fact, the percentage of electrical energy we purchase that originates from solar and wind sources is now more than 20 percent on any given day with the addition of this contract with Recurrent Energy."
The 40MWp/28MWac power contract signed with Energy Transfer for solar energy from the Maplewood 2 project has a duration of 15 years. In total, the Maplewood and Maplewood 2 projects will power 62,000 homes with clean electricity once operational by 2021. Canadian Solar's poly modules are likely to be used for the projects.