Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, has signed a virtual power purchase agreement with EMD Electronics, Biogen, Wayfair, Autodesk, and a large healthcare company for the production capacity of the Liberty Solar project.
Recurrent Energy is developing the 100 MWac solar project in Liberty County, Texas, around 50 miles from Houston. The project is expected to be operational in 2024.
Liberty Solar will expand solar energy capacity in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, which includes most of Liberty County where Liberty Solar is located. Solar energy currently makes up only 1 percent of the resource mix in MISO. Liberty Solar will produce enough energy to power approximately 15,000 homes annually.
EMD Electronics, the U.S. and Canada electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will purchase renewable energy generated by a 40 MW portion of Liberty Solar, serving as the anchor buyer of the project.
Biogen, a biotechnology company, will purchase renewable energy generated by a 20 MW portion of Liberty Solar as part of its commitment to 100 percent renewable electricity, which Biogen has maintained since 2014.
Wayfair will purchase renewable energy generated by a 15 MW portion of Liberty Solar. Wayfair’s portion is expected to produce 37,000 MWh, equivalent to approximately 64 percent of the company’s 2022 electricity demand in North America.
Autodesk will purchase renewable energy generated by a 10 MW portion of Liberty Solar.
A large healthcare company will purchase renewable energy generated from the remaining 15 MW portion of Liberty Solar.
The five companies were organized and supported by Sustainability Roundtable’s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers, the leading platform for corporate aggregated procurement of large-scale renewable energy in the U.S. and Europe.