National Grid Renewables hosted project partners and landowners to celebrate the start of construction at its Copperhead Solar & Storage Project, a 150-MW solar and 100-MWh storage project in Falls County, Texas. During the groundbreaking event, National Grid Renewables also announced a 140-MW PPA with The Hershey Company for Copperhead, marking the second PPA between The Hershey Company and National Grid Renewables after The Hershey Company’s Noble solar PPA was announced in 2021. Edison Energy, a global sustainability and energy advisory firm, worked with The Hershey Company on its environmental initiatives and selection of National Grid Renewables’ Copperhead.
Copperhead is projected to produce an estimated $25 million in direct economic impact throughout its first 25 years of operation, including the production of new tax revenue, onsite operations jobs and the creation of a charitable fund estimated at $600,000.
“Together with customers like The Hershey Company, National Grid Renewables is helping to build a clean, fair and affordable energy future,” said Blake Nixon, president for National Grid Renewables. “Projects like Copperhead promote sustainability and economic vitality at both global and local levels. Communities like those in the Falls County, Texas area can anticipate economic benefits for years to come as a result of welcoming renewable energy projects. With Copperhead, our commitment to the state of Texas and the ERCOT market remains strong, and we look forward to bringing this project to commercial operation to benefit local and statewide residents.”
As announced in its recently released ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Report, Hershey is on track to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions targets, having reported a 48% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions against a 2018 baseline and a 18% reduction in Scope 3. The company’s investment in three solar farm projects — two of which are through National Grid Renewables — plays a large role in the progress thus far.
Copperhead will utilize next-generation Series 6 thin film solar modules developed and produced by First Solar, a 100-MWh Fluence Gridstack battery energy storage system by Fluence Energy, and is being constructed by TIC—The Industrial Company, a subsidiary of Kiewit.
“We are honored to work alongside National Grid Renewables and The Hershey Company on their second utility-scale solar plus energy storage project in the ERCOT market,” said John Zahurancik, SVP & president of Americas at Fluence. “This project is a great example of how solar plus storage deployments deliver impactful environmental benefits and reliable energy, along with local economic workforce development. Projects like this position us to influence global sustainability and provide tangible local community impact.”
News item from National Grid Renewables
