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RWE Renewables, a subsidiary of RWE Group, and Direct Energy Business, part of Direct Energy, have announced that they have signed a long-term agreement to purchase 25 MW of electrical output and associated capacity from RWE’s Canadian Hull solar plant. The photovoltaic plant, located in Canada in Southern Alberta’s Taber county, started commercial operation recently and will now provide an important part of the electricity that Direct Energy Business needs to supply its Canadian customers with renewable electricity.

“This PPA demonstrates Direct Energy’s unique ability to create long-term, 100% renewable energy solutions that combine the strengths of our customers, project developers, and energy retailers alike,” said Lance Henderson, Director, Western Origination, Direct Energy Business.

The long-term contract started in August 2020. RWE’s solar farm will supply an annual production of up to 50 000 MWh of carbon-free energy and environmental attributes to Direct Energy; enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of 6500 Canadian homes. Canadian Solar Inc. has commenced the construction of the 10 MWp Groß Siemz solar power plant in Germany.

The project is located on an 11 hectare area next to the highway A20 Groß Siemz, near the city Schönberg, Northern Germany. Canadian Solar is the turnkey solutions provider for the photovoltaic (PV) plant, responsible for most of the project execution including the design, engineering, procurement and construction, and will be powering the solar plant with over 22 900 pieces of Canadian Solar high-efficiency mono-PERC modules. GS Solar GmbH & Co. KG, the customer and project owner, will connect the plant to the grid in October 2020 and Canadian Solar will provide the operations and maintenance services.

Once operational, the PV plant will generate approximately 10 GWh/y of clean and reliable solar energy, enough to meet the needs of over 3000 households. Through the project lifetime, it is expected to displace

EDF Renewables North America and Masdar, a clean energy developer and a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, have announced Masdar’s second strategic investment in the US, in a deal with EDF Renewables North America that will see it acquire a 50% stake in a 1.6 GW clean energy portfolio.

Under the terms of the agreement, Masdar has acquired a 50% interest in three utility-scale wind farms in the US in Nebraska and Texas totalling 815 MW, and five photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in California, US – two of which include battery energy storage systems – totalling 689 MW of solar and 75 MW of lithium-ion battery energy storage.

In Riverside County, California, the Desert Harvest 1 and Desert Harvest 2 PV projects total 213 MW of solar and 35 MW/140 MWh of battery storage. Also in Riverside County are the 173 MW Maverick 1 and 136 MW Maverick 4 solar PV projects. These four projects are also under construction and slated for commercial operations in 4Q20. The final project in the portfolio is Big Beau, a 166 MW solar PV and 40 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage project, which is in Kern County, California, and will reach commercial operation in 2021. All solar projects utilise

horizontal single-axis tracking technology. approximately 90 000 t of CO 2 equivalent emissions.

> US DOE announces funding for perovskite solar technologies > Japan invests in wind and solar power plants > Apex Clean Energy announces sale of White Mesa Wind

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