Hanwha Qcells breaks ground on 267 MW solar project in Colorado
By Moon Joon-hyunPublished : July 11, 2024 - 14:40
![Construction is underway at Hanwha Qcells' new solar farm in Weld County, Colorado, a project led by the solar energy division of Hanwha Solutions in collaboration with the Platte River Power Authority. (Hanwha Qcells)](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=640&simg=/content/image/2024/07/11/20240711050554_0.jpg)
Hanwha Qcells, a division of Hanwha Solutions specializing in solar energy, has started construction on a solar power project totaling 267 megawatts in the United States.
On Wednesday, Hanwha Qcells announced its partnership with the Platte River Power Authority, a US public power provider, to launch the full-scale construction of a new solar plant in Weld County, Colorado. Hanwha Qcells is responsible for the project's engineering, procurement and construction, ensuring a streamlined process from planning to execution.
The project includes the installation of over 540,000 solar modules on a site covering approximately 5.6 square kilometers, equivalent to 790 soccer fields. This new solar plant is expected to start commercial operations in 2025, providing renewable energy under a long-term power purchase agreement with PRPA.
Hanwha Qcells has been expanding its footprint in the US renewable energy market with several recently completed key projects. In May, Hanwha Qcells completed a 50-megawatt photovoltaic module installation coupled with 200 megawatt-hours of energy storage solutions, which now powers facilities for the tech giant Meta.
Earlier in April, Hanwha Qcells completed a 150 MW solar power plant in Wyoming, handling everything from development and module supply to the EPC phase.
In addition to new projects, Hanwha Qcells has been extending its relationships with major partners. In January this year, the company expanded its module supply agreement with Microsoft from an initial 2.5 gigawatts to a substantial 12 GW.
Furthermore, Hanwha Qcells renewed its memorandum of understanding with Summit Ridge Energy to supply a total of 2 GW of solar modules along with energy storage and energy management systems.
“This Colorado project is a big leap in our expansion into the US renewable energy market. We’re looking at all avenues to drive profitability, from successfully finishing projects like this to potentially selling off assets,” said Lee Koo-yung, CEO of Hanwha Qcells.