• Exclusive Content
  • Events
  • Endeavor Business Media Energy
    1. Renewables

    Bechtel building 272-MW Solar farm for Sabanci’s first U.S. project

    Dec. 13, 2022
    Connecting to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ Houston Zone, the solar energy produced at Cutlass Solar Two will provide enough zero-carbon electricity to power around 40,000 households while avoiding 600K metric tons of CO2 annually
    Image credit Bechtel
    Cutlass Solar Bechtel 6398cb8672880

    Sabanci Renewables has selected US engineering firm Bechtel to build a 272-MWdc solar facility in Fort Bend County, Texas.

    The facility will be owned and operated by Sabanci Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish firm Sabanci Holding. It will also mark the first utility-scale US solar project for Sabanci.

    Under the contract, Bechtel will be responsible for procurement, engineering, construction, commissioning, as well as project management. Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2023 and expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.

    Bechtel plans to work with regional vendors in Texas and the US Gulf Coast states. It also plans to implement training programs for local community members and employ over 200 people from the local area during construction.

    Connecting to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ Houston Zone, the solar energy produced at Cutlass Solar Two will provide enough zero-carbon electricity to power around 40,000 households. The project is also estimated to save 600,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per annum.

    Kelley Brown, EPC Operations Manager, North America Core Renewables, Bechtel Infrastructure, said, “Bechtel’s use of new technology in robotics and digital management will help move Cutlass Solar Two from construction to operations in record time, bringing additional renewable energy generation to Texas.”

    “Sabanci and Bechtel closely collaborated to develop the project on a record schedule, and we are confident our partnership will successfully deliver our first US renewable energy facility as planned,” said Ismail Bilgin, CEO of Sabanci Renewables.

    Bechtel is presently working on several gigawatts of solar power projects in various stages of construction and development throughout the U.S. The EPC giant also undertakes major projects in the nuclear, liquid natural gas and semiconductor industries.

    Texas ranks second nationally for installed solar capacity through the third quarter of 2022, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Trailing only California's 38.1 GW, the Lone Star state has more than 16 GW of installed solar capacity so far. 

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.