Leeward Renewable Energy has begun construction of a 200MW solar project in Frio County, in the US state of Texas.
The Horizon Solar project, near the city of Pearsall, is expected to reach commercial operation by the fourth quarter of 2023.
The project will create approximately 400 construction jobs and Leeward said it is committed to hiring local qualified workers.
In addition, Horizon Solar will generate approximately $30m in tax payments for the county and schools.
“We are pleased to begin construction at our Horizon Solar project,” said Omar Aboudaher, Leeward’s vice president of development.
“Today marks another important milestone in the development of the 200MW Texas solar facility, bringing LRE one step closer to providing clean, renewable energy. We thank the community and officials of Frio County for their support and look forward to a long-term partnership.”
Leeward previously announced four 15-year renewables purchase agreements with Verizon Communications, through which Verizon will purchase the energy generated at Horizon Solar, in addition to energy generated by three other Leeward projects.
The project will include solar components from America-based companies, including solar modules from First Solar and smart solar tracker solutions from NexTracker.
Once completed later next year, Horizon Solar will be Leeward’s second operational solar project in Texas where the company is operating the 30MW Barilla Solar project.
In total, Leeward will have over 1200MW of contracted solar projects in operation by end of 2023 and has approximately 16GW of solar projects in development and construction.