On October 2, 2024, Clearway Energy Group (Clearway) announced that it has closed financing and begun construction on the 300 MW solar and 200 MW standalone storage Pine Forest project in Hopkins County, Texas. Once complete, the Pine Forest project will generate enough electricity to power over 90,000 homes with reliable, low-cost energy. Dell Technologies contracted a significant portion of the solar project under a long-term virtual power purchase power agreement (vPPA) to support its climate goals. This project is expected to generate renewable energy to meet the majority of Dell Technologies’ U.S. footprint, bringing the company closer to one of its global sustainability ambitions of sourcing 75 percent electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040. Separately, Universal Corporation is also contracted under a vPPA with the Pine Forest solar project. Universal’s portion of the project will offset 100 percent of the electricity it uses in the United States with renewable power, contributing to its overall emissions reduction targets. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Clearway on the negotiation of the two offtake agreements/vPPAs opposite Dell Technologies and Universal Corporation.

The Pine Forest project will support an estimated 350 construction jobs and several permanent operations positions, contribute millions of dollars of direct investment to the local community, and generate more than $58 million in property taxes over the next 20 years. The projects will reach commercial operation in 2025.

The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Clearway on the transactions included Peter Mostow, Matt Bogdan, and Jaron Goddard.

For more information, please see Clearway’s news release.