TotalEnergies has started commercial operations at two utility-scale solar farms—Danish Fields and Cottonwood—in southeast Texas, the company said Sept. 30, adding 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity.

Located south of Houston in Brazoria County, the Danish Fields solar farm is the company’s largest solar farm in the U.S. The 720-megawatt (MW) Danish Fields project features 1.4 million ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels along with a 225-megawatt hour (MWh) battery storage system, TotalEnergies said in a news release.

The 455-MW Cottonwood solar farm features more than 847,00 ground-mounted PV panels. The site will also have a 225-MWh battery storage system supplied by TotalEnergies’ battery subsidiary Saft. It is scheduled for commissioning in 2025.

(Source: TotalEnergies)
A map of TotalEnergies' solar farms and industrial sites in Texas and Louisiana. (Source: TotalEnergies)

“The start-ups of Danish Fields and Cottonwood in the fast-growing ERCOT market showcase TotalEnergies’ ability to deliver competitive renewable electricity to support our clients’ decarbonization goals, as well as our own,” said Olivier Jouny, senior vice president of renewables at TotalEnergies.

Backed by batteries, solar producers have been steadily increasing capacity in the U.S. to help meet the nation’s growing electricity needs. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show solar accounted for 59% of U.S. generating capacity additions for the first-half of 2024. Texas is among the leaders for solar energy production.

TotalEnergies’ Danish Fields and Cottonwood solar farms are part of a portfolio of 4 GW of renewable energy assets the Paris-based company is operating or constructing in Texas. The company said 70% of Danish’s electricity production has already been contracted via long-term power purchase agreements (PPA), including a 15-year PPA with materials and service company Saint-Gobain. TotalEnergies said it plans to use the rest to decarbonize its industrial plants in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Electricity produced at Cottonwood is also contracted under long-term PPAs with chemicals company LyondellBasell and Saint-Goban.

Besides Danish Fields and Cottonwood, TotalEnergies also operates the 380-MW Myrtle Farm solar farm with 225 MWh of co-located batteries south of Houston in Brazoria County. Its 400-MW Hill 1 solar farm is under construction in Hill County, Texas.

Comments