Southern Power, one of Southern Company’s several subsidiaries, announced on Thursday the acquisition of the Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell County, Texas. Millers Branch has a current production capacity of 200-megawatts (MW) but the potential to expand to more than 500 MW – enough to power about 50,000 average homes.
“Millers Branch represents a significant milestone for Southern Power as we are entering this project with expansion opportunities,” said Southern Power President Robin Boren. “The project exemplifies Southern Power’s ongoing commitment to enhancing our solar portfolio as we build the future of energy.”
The power generated by the facility is already under a power purchase agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Massachusetts-based company that is a supplier of analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology services. The renewable energy credits that come with the power are part of Thermo Fisher’s progress towards its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The emissions “saved” by the solar project is about the equivalent of the emissions of 83,000 cars over the course of a year.
Located in north-central Texas, Millers Branch was developed by EDF Renewables, one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America. EDF is itself a subsidiary of a French utility, EDF Group, that operates internationally, with a presence in 22 countries and an installed capacity of more than 13,000 MW. EDF’s revenue was roughly $2 billion in 2021. So, a French conglomerate built a solar project in Texas for a Massachusetts-based conglomerate and sold it to a Georgia-based utility.
“Transitioning away from fossil fuels and adopting renewable energy accelerates our progress toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Thermo Fisher CEO Marc N. Casper earlier this year. “Our agreement with EDF Renewables (and now Southern Power) further demonstrates our commitment to addressing climate change and creating a more sustainable world for all—a goal that is deeply rooted in our Mission to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer.”
The announcement comes a few weeks after Plant Vogtle’s Unit 3 reactor came online, and a few months before Unit 4 is expected to be completed. The total generating capacity of Units 3 and 4 will be more than 2,200 MW. Southern Power’s total solar portfolio adds up to just over 2,500 MW of solar generation.
Southern Power currently operates or is constructing 29 solar and 15 wind power facilities. The Millers Branch project is part of Southern Power’s strategy to find and develop assets covered by long-term contracts – a relatively new phenomenon in the utility world thanks to renewable energy credit programs.
