US launches 1.2 GW solar project at coal site with 2 million solar panels

Panamint Capital has started a $1.7 billion, 1.2 GW solar project at its Twin Oaks coal site in Texas.

The build will use about 2 million U.S.-made panels and is being developed in two phases by SOLV Energy, First Solar, and Nextpower.

The existing coal plant will keep operating while the site adds solar, battery storage, and transmission upgrades.

The project highlights Texas’s push to pair renewables with fossil-fuel assets to meet surging power demand, including data center growth.