French utility giant Engie has acquired 6GW of solar and battery storage projects from Belltown Power in the US, continuing to strengthen the group’s project pipeline across the country.
The 33 early to late-stage projects include 2.7GW of solar, 0.7GW of solar-plus-storage and 2.6GW of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) spread across the country through ERCOT, PJM, MISO and WECC.
The portfolio will accelerate clean energy development across the US and “contribute to the flexibility of the grid to improve its reliability and resilience”, Paulo Almirante, senior executive VP in charge of renewable, energy management and nuclear activities at Engie said.
Engie already has 3.9GW of installed capacity in North America as of June 2022. “This acquisition is a perfect illustration of ENGIE’s strategy to accelerate our investments in renewable energy in our key markets,” Almirante said. “It is an important step towards achieving our goal of 80GW of installed renewable capacity by 2030.”
In April this year, Engie acquired fellow French developer Photosol’s US operations consisting of 17 early-stage solar and energy storage projects. The acquisition of Belltown considerably bolsters the company’s renewables pipeline in the US, pushing it into double figures after the 4GW Photosol deal.
Belltown Power had sold 14 projects amounting to approximately 2.5GW as of November last year, as reported in PV Tech sister site Energy-Storage.News. This sale speaks to a significant growth in the last 12 months for the Texas-based PV and energy storage developer, in a period when the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has seen solar manufacturing and development receive significant tax credits.
