1.3 Million US Made Solar Panels, 875 MW — Orion Solar Farm Goes Live In Texas - CleanTechnica

SB Energy Global announced Friday that its Orion I, Orion II, and Orion III solar projects—together naturally dubbed the “Orion Solar Belt”—are ready for operation. The company celebrated the feat with a ribbon cutting attended by U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, along with state and local officials. If you have a hard time envisioning Texas state officials rubbing elbows with someone from the federal government, you’re not alone.

“The Biden-Harris Administration envisioned an industrial strategy for clean energy that’s built and installed by American workers and powering American companies in proud American communities. This future is seen in action through the Orion Solar Belt in Texas,” Granholm said. “This project showcases how American made clean energy can power data centers and our future.”

Curious about that American made part? According to Renewables Now, the three new solar farms combined have 1.3 million solar panels manufactured in America by First Solar. In case you think the Texas grid will be getting a big boost from the 875 MW of electricity that is the nameplate capacity of the three projects — known collectively as the Orion Belt — think again. 85 percent of that electricity will go to power Google data centers in Ellis County and the company’s cloud services in the Dallas region. Only 15 percent will go to power homes and businesses in Texas. Google has signed a $1 billion power purchase agreement with SB Energy Global as part of its goal to become carbon free by 2030.

Because the solar panels were manufactured domestically, SB Energy Global, a division of Softbank, expects they will qualify for incentives made available by the Inflation Reduction Act which was enacted in 2022 without one single Republican vote in Congress. And yet Texas officials were on hand to bamboozle voters into thinking they somehow deserve credit for bringing this project to fruition. Interestingly enough, none of those state officials were made at all uncomfortable by their blatant hypocrisy.

The Houston Chronicle reports the three solar farms are located in the town of Buckholts, which is located about 150 miles northwest of Houston and 70 miles north of Austin and has a population of less than 400 people. The three Orion solar farms are built side by side and provide 875 megawatts of energy. According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association, a project like this in Texas could power approximately 105,000 homes (except it will be powering Google facilities instead).

“Google’s data centers house some of the world’s most popular services and are a major economic engine for 21st century business. Our goal is to make sure that the services and products that people and customers use every day are powered by reliable carbon-free energy around-the-clock,” said Google vice president of 24×7 and capacity Ben Sloss. “We’re thrilled SB Energy’s Orion Solar Belt is coming online, helping build a stronger future for communities and Google in Texas.

Google isn’t the only tech company investing deeper in Texas, and the opening of the Orion Solar Belt is just another sign that Texas has moved to the front of the queue in embracing solar energy production, the Chronicle said in the article about the project going online. SB Energy estimates that the Orion Solar Belt will employ 3,000 workers in the manufacturing of the components and the construction phase. It expects the three projects to contribute $100 million to local services over its lifespan.

In a press release, the company said the Orion Solar Belt includes more than 1.3 million solar modules manufactured by First Solar at its Perrysburg, Ohio facility. Additionally, the 22,800 tons of structural steel for the entirety of the project was sourced from Gerdau steel mills located in Midlothian, Texas, and Cartersville, Georgia. Also, the Orion Solar Belt includes Nextracker smart solar trackers, with the majority of the components manufactured domestically. SB Energy selected Blattner to provide the engineering, procurement and construction services for the project.

Rich Hossfeld, SB Energy CEO, said: “When it comes to actualizing American jobs and providing power to the world’s largest energy users, SB Energy is committed to creating the road map. We are thankful for the support from Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the many federal, local, and statewide leaders, as well as Google. We hope the Orion Solar Belt serves as a catalyst for growing investments in a robust American-made supply chain for solar.”

The Texas economy is booming, thanks in large part to policies promoted by the Biden–Harris administration. The Lone Star State leads the US both in total energy consumption and in installed renewable energy capacity. Currently, the state has 70 gigawatts of installed solar, wind, and energy storage capacity, making it possible for Texans to get nearly 30 percent of their energy from renewable energy resources.

Manufacturing the components and racking systems in America by American workers is exactly what the Inflation Reduction Act was intended to promote. The Orion Solar Belt proves the IRA is working as intended to bring good paying jobs to American workers and expand access to clean, renewable energy everywhere in America.

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