US community solar developer Summit Ridge Energy and PV manufacturer Qcells have extended their module supply partnership.
The new agreement will add 800MW of solar PV modules supplied to Summit Ridge Energy, bringing the total commitment to 2GW. The companies had previously signed a 1.2GW module supply agreement in April 2023.
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This extended supply agreement will support the community solar developer’s growing development pipeline and develop over 100 additional community solar projects across the US. It has a development pipeline of more than 3GW.
Most of the solar panels will be produced in Qcell’s vertically integrated solar PV plant in Georgia. Last year, the company unveiled its plan to establish a 3.3GW ingot, wafer, solar cells and module manufacturing plant in Bartow County, with a US$2.5 billion investment.
According to Summit Ridge Energy and Qcells, the expanded partnership is supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, through tax incentives for domestic energy production and manufacturing.
Brian Dunn, chief operating officer at Summit Ridge Energy, said: “Through our Qcells partnership, we are able to support domestic manufacturing and job creation, while simultaneously bringing low-cost clean energy to communities that have historically been left out of the clean energy transition.”
Castillo Engineering secures 56MW of Illinois community solar portfolio
In other US community solar news, engineering company Castillo Engineering has been selected as the Engineer of Record (EOR) for three portfolios of community solar projects in Illinois.
The portfolios consist of 14 projects with a combined capacity of 56MW, of which 23MW with Recon Corporation between three projects. The other two portfolios are split in 21MW for seven projects and 12MW between four projects.
All the projects will use fixed-tilt solar mounting systems and bifacial modules and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025.
This is the latest community solar project Castillo Energy has announced in Illinois. Earlier this year, the company partnered with Summit Ridge Energy to provide design and engineering services on an 82MW portfolio that consists in 26 community solar projects.
