ContourGlobal acquires 446MW US solar portfolio from Qcells

British independent power producer ContourGlobal has announced the acquisition of a 446MWp solar PV portfolio from US-based solar developer Qcells.

The assets include a 324MWp project already in construction in Colorado, and a 122MWp project in Virginia, expected to start construction in 2026.

The Colorado assets will provide electricity to Platte River Power Authority, a community-owned public power generation and transmission utility, under a long-term power purchase agreement.

The Virgina 122MWp project is expected to enter commercial operation in 2027, benefitting from a 20-year PPA with an investment grade investor-owned utility.

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The plants will produce approximately 845GWh annually, enough to power about 80,000 American households every year.

According to ContourGlobal, the projects are located in attractive markets, where thermal capacity is retiring, emissions targets are in place and policy is supporting the development of renewables.

The acquisition will strategically extend ContourGlobal's footprint in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and Pennsylvania-New Jersey–Maryland interconnection markets, and expands the firm's planned solar PV and BESS capacity in the United States to almost 1.5GW.

Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of ContourGlobal, commented on the acquisition in a statement: “This transaction allows us to maintain momentum in our US renewable growth, nearing 1.2GW of solar PV capacity complemented with additional 0.3GW of BESS capacity, in construction or late development. It also meaningfully accelerates the start of our commercial operations to the first half of this year. We are proud of this milestone and delighted that our partnership with Qcells will also enable us to integrate their US-produced solar technology into these acquired projects.”

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As part of the agreement with ContourGlobal, Qcells will be responsible for project construction and will provide the solar panels produced at their Dalton and Cartersville facilities in Georgia. The firm will also perform development, EPC, and O&M services.

Qcells Dalton facility was completed in October 2023 and at the time was the largest manufacturing plant of its kind in the Western Hemisphere with a 5.1GW capacity. The Cartersville factory began operating in April 2024 and is set to reach a 3.3GW capacity this year.

The two factories will increase Qcells’ total annual production capacity of modules to 8.4GW, enough to generate the electricity required to power 1.3 million households for a year.

In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Danielle Merfeld, Global CTO of Qcells, talks about the company's US suppy chain expansion plans.