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RWE taps WhiteRock Renewables to "supercharge" US growth ambitions

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RWE taps WhiteRock Renewables to "supercharge" US growth ambitions | Windpower Monthly

Texas-based WhiteRock has plans to develop 4-5GW of onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the US, according to RWE. Under the new strategic relationship, RWE Clean Energy will have the option to acquire the projects as they reach maturity and are ready for a final investment decision.

RWE currently has 36GW of onshore wind, solar and BESS projects in its US development pipeline. It said it hopes to achieve record growth thanks to the agreement with WhiteRock.

Teaming up with WhiteRock will “supercharge our growth trajectory over the next five years,” said Hanson Wood, senior vice president of utility-scale development for RWE Clean Energy.

RWE said it is investing billions to expand its US portfolio, which will make up 30% of the 65GW by 2030 target the company has for green energy capacity installed globally.

John Wycherley and Brett O’Connor, co-founders of WhiteRock, said: “When seeking to expand WhiteRock, we evaluated various business models that would enable expansion of our development pipeline. The relationship with RWE presented the perfect opportunity to create a collaborative platform for growth whilst providing an avenue for the projects we develop to become operating assets.”

Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics

State of Play

Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:

  • Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
  • Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
  • Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
  • Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. 

On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”

More informationabout Climate economics