Invenergy and HASI partner on a 2.7 GW solar-plus-storage portfolio
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- Invenergy, HASI Team Up on 2.7 GW Solar-Storage Pipeline: The two companies will co-develop utility-scale solar and co-located battery energy storage systems across multiple U.S. markets, creating one of the year's largest announced development partnerships. PV Tech. Read More: PV Tech.
- Georgia Regulators Approve 1,137 MW of Solar PPAs: The Georgia Public Service Commission greenlit seven solar power purchase agreements for Georgia Power under its CARES programs, adding over a gigawatt of contracted utility-scale solar capacity in a single action. PV Tech. Read More: PV Tech.
- Q2 Solar Hits 11.4 GW but Bottlenecks Persist: U.S. solar installations reached 11.4 GWdc in the second quarter of 2026, with utility-scale projects surging 61%, though permitting and interconnection delays continue to cap growth. PV Magazine USA. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
- Array Technologies Opens $50M New Mexico Factory: The solar tracker manufacturer tripled its U.S. manufacturing footprint with a 216,000-square-foot facility in Albuquerque that will employ 300 workers and produce components eligible for the Section 45X production tax credit. PV Magazine USA. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
- Kentucky County Permanently Bans Data Centers, Large Battery Storage: Woodford County, Kentucky, became the first county in the state to enact a permanent ban on data center construction and large battery storage systems, citing agricultural preservation concerns. Ohio Capital Journal. Read More: Ohio Capital Journal.
Solar & Storage
The Invenergy-HASI partnership announced today puts 2.7 GW of solar and co-located battery storage into joint development — a portfolio large enough to power roughly 500,000 homes at full buildout. Invenergy, based in Chicago, already operates one of the country's largest independent generation fleets. HASI, formerly HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, brings project finance muscle. For developers watching the capital markets, the deal signals that institutional money is still flowing into utility-scale solar-plus-storage despite policy uncertainty in Washington, and that co-location of generation and storage is now table stakes for new projects seeking grid interconnection.
Separately, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved seven solar PPAs totaling 1,137 MW for Georgia Power under the utility's CARES programs. That's a meaningful slug of new contracted capacity in a state that has quietly become one of the Southeast's largest solar markets. For independent power producers selling into Georgia Power's procurement rounds, the approval confirms that the regulatory framework for large-scale solar in the state remains intact even as the broader federal incentive picture shifts.
The quarter-level numbers reinforce both the momentum and the friction. U.S. solar installations hit 11.4 GWdc in Q2 2026, with Texas, Arizona, and Florida leading the pack, according to PV Magazine USA. Utility-scale solar drove the bulk of that growth — up 61% — largely on the strength of projects that had safe-harbored tax credits in prior years. But the report flagged permitting and interconnection bottlenecks as ongoing constraints, a familiar refrain that suggests the industry's ceiling remains well above what it can actually build in any given quarter. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
Down in Louisiana, Orion Renewable Energy Group is advancing the Persimmon Energy Center, a 762 MW solar and battery storage project spanning 4,700 acres in North Calcasieu Parish. The projected investment: $2.4 billion. Orion, which has been developing renewable energy projects since 1998 and has built over 2,500 MW of wind and solar capacity, is betting big on a state where petrochemical industry demand and data center load growth are creating new offtake opportunities. A project of that scale in southwest Louisiana would be among the largest solar-plus-storage facilities in the Gulf South. 337.news. Read More: 337.news.
On the supply side, Array Technologies marked a milestone by opening a $50 million, 216,000-square-foot solar tracker manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The facility triples the company's previous U.S. manufacturing capacity, will create roughly 300 jobs, and — crucially for Array's bottom line — produces components that qualify for the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit. The move brings production that had been sourced from external suppliers in-house, giving Array tighter control over its supply chain at a time when tariff volatility and trade restrictions have made domestic manufacturing a competitive advantage rather than just a political talking point. PV Magazine USA. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
Policy & Markets
Woodford County, Kentucky, drew a hard line this week, becoming the first county in the state to permanently ban data center construction and large battery storage systems. Officials pointed to agricultural land preservation and community heritage as the driving concerns. The ban is notable because it targets not just data centers — which have become flashpoints across the country as their electricity demand strains local grids — but also grid-scale battery storage, a technology that utilities and grid operators increasingly view as essential to reliability. For storage developers scouting sites in Kentucky's Bluegrass region, the ordinance closes a door that may prompt neighboring jurisdictions to consider similar restrictions.
That local resistance contrasts sharply with what's happening a few miles away in Lexington, where the Urban County Council approved expanded zoning opportunities for solar energy development within the city. The move integrates solar into municipal development standards — a modest but practical step that could ease permitting for distributed and commercial-scale installations in Kentucky's second-largest city. Lexington News. Read More: Lexington News.
The divergence between Woodford County and Lexington illustrates a pattern that has become one of the defining tensions in clean energy development: state and local governments within the same region reaching starkly different conclusions about whether renewable energy infrastructure belongs in their communities. As yesterday's briefing noted, a Columbia University study documented 865 local barriers to renewable projects nationwide, with 70 new restrictions added in 2025 alone. Rural counties worried about land use are pulling in one direction; cities eager for economic development and climate goals are pulling in another.
Globally, the battery supply chain remains dominated by China, which supplied the lion's share of the more than 1.5 terawatt-hours of batteries deployed worldwide last year for both electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage, according to Canary Media. That concentration of manufacturing is the backdrop against which the Trump administration's recent executive order on foreign-made grid technology and ongoing tariff actions are playing out — and it helps explain why companies like Array Technologies are racing to build domestic capacity for components that can qualify for U.S. tax credits. Read More: Canary Media.
A 20-year study of utility-scale wind and solar projects in Indiana found no significant negative impact on nearby home values, according to Renewable Energy World. The research adds to a growing body of evidence that developers and their lobbyists can deploy in zoning fights, though the study's authors acknowledged that property impacts likely vary by location — a caveat that opponents of projects in places like Woodford County will surely cite. Read More: Renewable Energy World.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Invenergy-HASI Site Selection: Watch for announcements on specific project locations and interconnection filings from the 2.7 GW joint development portfolio, which will signal where the partners see the clearest path through permitting and grid queues.
- Kentucky Battery Storage Fallout: Woodford County's permanent ban on large battery storage could prompt other rural Kentucky counties to weigh similar restrictions; developers with projects in the pipeline should monitor local legislative calendars closely.
- Safe Harbor Clock Ticking: The 61% surge in Q2 utility-scale solar was driven heavily by safe-harbored projects. As those pipelines thin, the next two quarters will reveal whether new project starts can sustain the pace or whether interconnection and permitting constraints reassert themselves.
TODAY'S QUICK ANSWERS
Q: What does the Invenergy-HASI deal signal about capital availability for solar-plus-storage?
A: At 2.7 GW, the partnership is among the largest joint development agreements this year and suggests that infrastructure-focused investors still see utility-scale solar with co-located battery storage as a bankable asset class. Developers competing for interconnection slots should note that deep-pocketed partnerships like this one can absorb the long timelines and upfront costs that squeeze smaller players out of the queue.
Q: Why should storage developers worry about Woodford County's ban?
A: Because the ordinance doesn't just target data centers — it permanently prohibits large battery storage systems, bundling a grid reliability technology with the power-hungry facilities that many communities already oppose. If other rural counties follow suit, it could force developers to concentrate storage siting in urban or industrial zones, limiting options and potentially increasing land costs.
Q: How much longer can safe-harbored projects sustain solar installation growth?
A: The Q2 data showed utility-scale solar up 61%, but that growth was explicitly tied to projects that locked in tax credits in prior years. As those safe-harbored pipelines deplete over the next several quarters, developers without similar protections will face the full weight of current permitting timelines, interconnection backlogs, and any changes to the federal incentive structure — making late 2026 and early 2027 a critical test of underlying market demand.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A record-pace Q2 and billion-dollar partnership announcements show the solar-plus-storage market is still running hot, but the growth engine is burning through safe-harbored project fuel that won't last, and county-level bans on storage are a reminder that local politics can shut the door faster than federal policy can open it.