EDF Renewables North America has secured a 1GW solar and battery storage contract from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as part of its 2021 solicitation for large-scale renewable energy certificates.

The solar projects in the contract include the Columbia Solar Energy Centre and Ridge View Solar Energy Centre, each with 350MWac of capacity, and 20MW of co-located battery storage.

The Columbia Solar Energy Centre is located in the towns of Columbia and Litchfield in Herkimer County while the Ridge View Solar Energy Centre is in Hartland, Niagara County.

The Rich Road Solar Energy Centre is the third solar facility and comes with a 20MW co-located storage facility in Canton, St Lawrence County.

EDF Renewables North America noted that the projects represent around 40% of the total 2,408MW awarded in the solicitation.

The company said that the three solar facilities are expected to deliver clean electricity by the end of 2025.

They will generate enough clean energy to power more than 243,000 average New York homes while displacing more than 880,000 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

EDF Renewables North-East Region senior development director Stephane Desdunes said: “The team has worked diligently to progress the development of our New York solar portfolio since 2017.

“We are proud of the fact we have been awarded 1,313MW of the 2020 and 2021 procurements and 1,483MW in total since 2018.

“With more than 1GW of solar and storage projects still in the development pipeline, EDF Renewables looks forward to working side by side with NYSERDA and New York State to achieve the 70% by 2030 goal and deliver clean energy to the residents of New York.

“The region will benefit from procurement and employment opportunities throughout the development, construction and operational phases.”