Ørsted announced today that following final investment decision from its Board of Directors it has commenced construction on the company's first utility-scale solar plus battery storage project, the 460megawatt (MWac) Permian Energy Center. The facility is located in Andrews County, Texas, and will come online in mid-2021.

Upon completion of the Permian Energy Center, Ørsted will become the first energy company to operate the full spectrum of onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and storage solutions in the U.S. market.

The Permian Energy Center will comprise 420MWac of solar PV and 40MWac of battery storage located on a 3,600-acre site alongside existing oil and gas installations and will supply growing West Texas demand for electricity. In a region synonymous with traditional energy production, the project underscores the increasing cost competitiveness of renewable energy.

Ørsted CEO Henrik Poulsen, says: "We're very excited to be moving ahead with the Permian Energy Center and to be adding solar plus storage to our rapidly growing portfolio of U.S. onshore assets. With the completion of the project, Ørsted will have a US portfolio of operating assets that spans the full spectrum of offshore and onshore renewable energy technologies, which we believe is important as we look to offer our customers the most competitive and diverse clean energy solutions into the future."

The solar modules for the Permian Energy Center will be supplied by Jinko Solar and JA Solar, the number one and number two global suppliers, respectively, in 2018.

About MW Permian Energy Center

• 460MW combined solar plus battery storage facility
• Total project area: 3560 acres
• Number of solar panels to be installed: 1,300,000
• Projected daily output capacity: 420MWac, able to deliver power to 100,000 US homes
• Battery storage facility capacity: 40MWac, 1-hour
• Estimated number of jobs during peak construction: 300
• Andrews County, Texas (click for location)

Ørsted's U.S. onshore business operates approximately 1GW of wind assets. It has a further 670MW of wind assets under construction in addition to the 420MWac of solar photovoltaic and 40MWac of storage that will be delivered by the Permian Energy Center