Orsted completes construction of combined wind-solar project in Texas

The Helena Energy Center consists of the Helena Wind wind farm with a capacity of 268 MW and the Sparta Solar photovoltaic farm with a capacity of 250 MWAC

Ørsted yesterday announced the completion of the Helena Energy Center, a 518 MW wind and solar project located in Bee County in southern Texas. The wind-solar center is now fully operational and will produce enough renewable energy to power more than 110,000 Texas homes and businesses annually.

The Helena Energy Center consists of the 268 MW Helena Wind wind farm and the 250 MWAC Sparta Solar solar farm and has secured contracts with many corporate customers.

David Hardy, executive vice president and general manager, Region Americas at Ørsted, said: “Helena Energy Center is unique in that it is Ørsted’s first co-located wind and solar project and the largest renewable energy project in our global onshore portfolio. Taking advantage of the Gulf of Mexico’s strong offshore winds and abundant sunlight, this project will provide reliable power to the Texas grid and economic opportunities for the local community. Reaching full capacity, Helena Energy Center increases Ørsted’s global onshore operating portfolio to 4.8 GW. We look forward to building on this momentum as more onshore projects come to the U.S. this year.”

Ørsted has a further over 1.3 GW of onshore renewable assets under construction, of which approximately 1.1 GW of capacity is expected to come online in 2024.

Celebration with the local community
To celebrate the completion of the project, Ørsted hosted a meeting attended by partners, landowners, community members and local and state elected officials at the Helena facility, which is home to 66 wind turbines and more than 600,000 solar panels.

“This project should be good news for all Texans as it provides our state with a significant amount of clean energy at a time when all eyes are on grid reliability,” said Texas Senator Morgan LaMantia, who represents Bee County. “I am especially proud that the Bee County community will also benefit from job opportunities, public school support and funding for rural areas like ours.”

The construction of the Helena Energy Center created approximately 500 construction jobs and will create operations and maintenance jobs for decades.

About Ørsted
Ørsted’s vision is a world based entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, builds and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuel installations and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader in climate action and was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net zero emissions target endorsed by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Ørsted, based in Denmark, employs approximately 8,900 people.