AES, Clearway Energy Group, Cypress Creek Renewables, and
D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments form buying consortium to purchase
6-7 GW of crystalline silicon solar modules annually to encourage
the rapid scaling of domestic solar manufacturing in the United States
WASHINGTON, June 21,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading independent power
producers, The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), Clearway Energy Group
(Clearway), Cypress Creek Renewables, and D. E. Shaw Renewable
Investments (DESRI), have formed the US Solar Buyer Consortium to
support expansion of the domestic solar supply chain and drive the
growth of the American solar industry.
Increasing domestic US solar supply chains
will create lasting resiliency and alleviate current industry
constraints.
To meet its ambitious growth targets, the Consortium has
launched a competitive RFP to search for qualified manufacturers
who are aligned with the consortium's goals and can commit to a
long-term strategic partnership to supply up to 7 GW of solar
modules per year starting from 2024.
"Our group of companies comprise industry leaders that are
committed to delivering cost-effective, renewable power for our
customers. Our joint commitment to procure at this scale can
provide the certainty suppliers need to ramp up capacity and
overcome current supply chain constraints," said David Zwillinger, DESRI's CEO.
The buying consortium will encourage a stable, domestic supply
chain for solar modules. Promoting the on-shoring of the module
supply chain demonstrates the buying consortium's belief in an
American-made solar industry that has the potential to create over
250,000 new permanent jobs and over 50,000 new construction jobs by
2035. Increasingly domestic supply chains will create lasting
resiliency and alleviate constraints faced by the industry
today.
"The Consortium has a large and growing pipeline of solar
projects in the United States, and
we are committed to supporting America's clean energy transition,"
said Andrés Gluski, AES President and CEO. "We're working
together with customers of all kinds to decarbonize their
operations and the grid."
"Solar provides low-cost clean energy, builds resiliency into
the grid and is vital in addressing the climate crisis," said
Sarah Slusser, CEO of Cypress Creek
Renewables. "We are proud to advance our country's important
decarbonization and clean energy goals and American manufacturing
through the support provided by this consortium."
Increasing solar energy deployment is essential to achieving
net-zero emissions by 2050 and limiting global temperature rise to
1.5o C. While the White House's recently announced
24-month bridge for certain solar imports and actions to support
domestic manufacturing are a large step towards addressing supply
chain challenges, the Consortium recognizes that more needs to be
done to build upon the industry's progress towards providing
lower-cost, reliable, clean power to American families and
businesses.
"Today's announcement from the Consortium is just one step
toward bolstering America's solar supply chain," said Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway Energy Group.
"With legislation pending before Congress, policymakers can scale
our domestic manufacturing workforce and restore our country's
legacy as a manufacturing leader. We appreciate the Biden
administration's commitment to invest in American workers and urge
lawmakers to seize this opportunity."
For more details, please contact the consortium at
info@solar-consortium.com.
For suppliers interested in responding to the RFP, please contact
rfp@solar-consortium.com.
About AES: The AES Corporation (NYSE:
AES) is a Fortune 500 global energy company accelerating the future
of energy. Together with our many stakeholders, we're improving
lives by delivering the greener, smarter energy solutions the world
needs. Our diverse workforce is committed to continuous innovation
and operational excellence, while partnering with our customers on
their strategic energy transitions and continuing to meet their
energy needs today. For more information, visit
AES here.
About Clearway: Clearway Energy Group is leading
the transition to a world powered by clean energy. Along with our
public affiliate Clearway Energy, Inc., we own and operate more
than 8 gigawatts of renewable and conventional energy assets across
the country. As we develop a nationwide pipeline of new renewable
energy projects for the future, Clearway's 5.6 gigawatts of wind,
solar, and energy storage assets offset the equivalent of more than
10.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions for our customers
today. Clearway Energy Group is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Carlsbad, Calif.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Houston; and Princeton, N.J. For more information, visit
clearwayenergygroup.com.
About Cypress Creek Renewables: Cypress
Creek Renewables is a leading US renewables developer and
independent power producer. It develops, finances, owns, and
operates utility-scale and distributed solar and energy storage
projects across the United States
with a mission to power a sustainable future, one project at a
time. Since inception, Cypress Creek has developed more than 12GW
of solar projects. Today it owns 2GW of solar and has a 14GW
pipeline. Cypress Creek's leading O&M services business
operates and maintains 4GW of solar projects for customers across
19 states. For more information about Cypress Creek, please visit
www.ccrenew.com.
About D. E. Shaw Renewable
Investments: D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments
(DESRI) and its affiliates develop, acquire, own, and operate
long-term contracted renewable energy assets in the U.S. DESRI's
portfolio of operating and in-construction renewable energy
projects currently includes more than 65 solar and wind projects
representing more than 6 GW of aggregate capacity. DESRI is a
member of the D. E. Shaw group, a global investment and technology
development firm with more than $60
billion in investment and committed capital as of
March 1, 2022, and offices in
North America, Europe, and Asia.
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SOURCE AES CORP.