RWE Renewables has started operations for the Hickory Park Solar project, a 195.5 MW AC facility coupled with a 40 MW 2-hour battery storage system, located in Mitchell County, Ga.
RWE is operator and manager of the solar facility, selling the energy and renewable attributes from the facility to Georgia Power through its Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) program.
“Projects like Hickory Park, with its co-located battery storage system, will become increasingly important as renewables form a bigger part of the energy mix,” says Silvia Ortín, CEO of RWE Renewables Americas. “Our largest solar project in the Americas is now benefiting the state of Georgia, including tax revenue to local counties and school districts. We are pleased to develop this project and advance solar in the state of Georgia as part of Georgia Power’s REDI program.”
In November 2019, the company announced it entered into a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Georgia Power, an investor-owned public utility that serves approximately 2.7 million customers.
The project connects more than 650,000 solar panels, which together covers an area of about 1,800 acres. The integration of a state-of-the-art DC-coupled storage system allows the project’s energy yield to be optimized and increase the predictability of injection of locally produced electricity into the Georgia Power grid.
