Gulf Coast renewables-plus-ammonia project changes ownership
Gulf Coast renewables-plus-ammonia project changes ownership | Windpower Monthly
HyFuels’ project footprint, located on the Texas Gulf Coast, is split evenly between wind and solar. It is described by the companies as an area of rapidly increasing power demand and a centre for American-produced ammonia.
Since initially partnering on the green ammonia project in mid-2023, Nova and BNB have completed environmental surveys, secured a schedule for connection to the power grid and ordered long lead-time equipment.
The first phase is expected to reach full notice to proceed (NTP) in 2025 and commercial operations in 2026.
Nova Clean Energy is the US regional development and portfolio company of Bluestar Energy Capital, a global renewable energy investment company headquartered in Chicago.
BNB Renewable Energy has been developing wind and solar projects across the USA and in Mexico for 20 years. It originated the HyFuels development in late 2020 and it has entered into a long-term development services agreement with Nova.
Commenting on the announcement, Ben Pratt, president of Nova Clean Energy, said: “The Texas grid is going to continue to need a variety of power sources to serve its fast-growing demand. Wind paired with solar provides a generation profile that industrial as well as utility customers increasingly want to see.”
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: renewables
Renewable energy sources — once the fuel of the future, then practical in specific, narrow applications — are increasingly economic mainstream sources of power generation. Hydropower was long the mainstay of U.S. renewable electricity generation, although wind power surpassed hydro for the first time in 2019, and solar continues its rapid growth. The continued growth of wind and solar, with their fluctuations, is tied in part to improvements in storage technology: batteries.