Enel, through its US renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power North America, started construction of the 284 MW1 Azure Sky solar + storage project, its second hybrid project in North America that integrates a renewable energy plant with utility-scale battery storage. The project is another milestone in the company’s commitment, announced in July, to invest in renewables-plus-storage hybrids in the United States. The Home Depot will procure the electricity generated from a 75 MW portion of the Azure Sky solar project through a power purchase agreement.

Through the PPA, the energy The Home Depot will procure annually from the Azure Sky solar project is enough to power more than 150 Home Depot stores. The agreement is The Home Depot’s largest renewable energy procurement and will enable the home improvement retailer to make substantial progress against the company’s new sustainability goal to produce or procure 335 MW of renewable or alternative energy as outlined in the company’s recently released 2020 Responsibility Report.

Located west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Haskell County, Texas, the Azure Sky solar + storage project comprises a 284 MW1 photovoltaic facility paired with an 81 MW battery and is expected to be operational by summer 2021.

Azure Sky solar + storage’s nearly 700,000 PV bifacial panels are expected to generate over 586 GWh each year, which will be delivered to the grid and will charge the battery located in the same facility, which is equivalent to avoiding the annual emission of over 386,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The battery storage system will be capable of storing the power generated by the photovoltaic panels, while also providing services to enhance grid flexibility.