A Texas-Sized Floating Solar Plant Is Coming To Texas, Of Course

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There they go again. Texas has become a pacesetter for the domestic renewable energy transition, and that includes the emerging field of floating solar. The state is suddenly on track to host a 391-megawatt floating solar power plant, far bigger than anything else like it in the US — very, very far bigger, that is.

The Biggest Floating Solar Power Plant In The US, By Far

Floating solar is a slice of the solar industry with its own specialized systems, challenges, and advantages. Although large floating solar power plants are appearing in other parts of the world, the US has been slow on the uptake. In contrast to the triple-digit scale of today’s land-based solar power plants, the floating field is characterized by relatively small arrays ranging from the kilowatt scale to just a few megawatts, mainly located at water treatment plants and other water infrastructure (see more floating PV background here).

For example, back in 2019 the town of Sayreville, New Jersey greenlighted a new 4.4 megawatt floating solar facility at its water treatment plant. It was billed as the largest facility of its kind at the time. Six years down the road, the industry has yet to reach much beyond that scale. An 8.9-megawatt floating solar array on a reservoir in Short Hills, New Jersey is currently listed as the biggest in the US.

Against that backdrop, the Texas floating solar project is not just huge, it’s a game changer. At 391 megawatts, the new floating array will be the centerpiece of the forthcoming Pleasure Island Power Collective, a combination energy and data center project to be constructed in the city of Port Arthur, Texas. More specifically, it will take up a total of 2,275 acres on Sabine Lake and Pleasure Island, a human-made stretch of land off Port Arthur created alongside the construction of the Port Arthur Canal more than 100 years ago.

What Is The Pleasure Island Power Collective?

The Pleasure Island Power Collective is new on the CleanTechnica radar, so it’s catch-up time. The project comes under the umbrella of the startup Diligence Offshore Services. The firm launched in 2023, billing itself as “America’s very first black owned vertically integrated utility company.”

“We harness the winds, waters, and ingenuity of the Gulf Coast to fuel Adaptive Intelligence, industry, and innovation—anchored in equity, sustainability, and excellence. By uniting wind, solar, storage, and service under one collective, we ensure energy independence, economic growth, and opportunity for the people of Port Arthur, Texas, and beyond,” the company says of itself.

That’s a pretty tall order for a two-year-old startup. However, Diligence is sticking to its plan despite this year’s abrupt shift in federal energy policy. The initial plan reportedly involved a new offshore wind farm, which would have been a nonstarter considering President Donald Trump’s vendetta against offshore wind turbines. However, Diligence was able to secure a lease for an onshore site from Port Arthur earlier this year.

Floating Solar Scales Up, With Or Without Federal Subsidies

In the latest development, on August 29 Diligence affirmed that the Florida firm AccuSolar is on board to add its floating solar technology to the Pleasure Island project.

AccuSolar confirmed the new 391-megawatt partnership in a press release on September 26, in which it noted that Diligence is pursuing an accelerated development schedule through the federal Defense Production Act. That seems like a long shot in today’s political environment. However, in an interview with local station KFDM-6 in September, Diligence founder Harry Crawford III noted that the project does not depend on federal approval or support.

Diligence did not ask the city for tax relief, either. “When we first came to Port Arthur, the thing that we said was we didn’t need their money. So, we don’t have any tax abatements,” Crawford told KFDM-6.

“We’re not using any IRA money. We’re not using any federal subsidies. We’re not on any federal land. It has nothing to do with us,” Crawford added.

How Big Can Floating Solar Go?

I’ve reached out to AccuSolar for more details about the floating solar part of the Paradise Island complex. It will be interesting to see how they aim pull it off. After all, 391 megawatts is ambitious on a global scale. Currently only two other floating solar arrays in the world are bigger, including a 1-gigawatt project in China commissioned in November last year.

Still, 391 megawatts is not out of scale for a solar project in Texas, floating or not. The state has been vying with California and Florida for the #1 spot in the Solar Energy Industry Association’s state-by-state ranking of installed solar capacity, and the ongoing data center boom has fostered another spurt of activity.

One project of particular interest is the 556-megawatt Gulf Star solar power plant in Wharton County, Texas. The total comes to 911 megawatts counting an integrated energy storage system of 355 megawatts. The solar array will pull double duty as a grazing area for sheep, too.

The sheep angle underscores the emerging connection between the solar industry and new opportunities for agriculture and ecosystem restoration. Similarly, AccuSolar is among the floating solar advocates teasing out the potential for ecosystem benefits. Researchers caution that negative consequences can arise unless projects are carefully designed, but the general idea is that floating solar panels can shield bodies of water from excess heat, reducing harmful algae growth and reducing water loss through evaporation, too.

With continued improvements in solar conversion efficiency, developers will have more flexibility to design floating projects that conserve aquatic habitats while delivering the clean kilowatts. A small but potentially influential project in Colorado also indicates that new solar tracking systems can enable developers to squeeze more electricity out of a smaller area.

As AccuSolar points out, though, the primary ecosystem benefit consists of not taking up space on land. For that matter, ecosystem impacts are not a factor at all when floating panels are applied to water treatment plants and other industrial water systems.

Unsurprisingly, Texas provides a look at the potential for floating solar activity to scale in the industrial space. In August, the Texas-based infrastructure services firm Diamond Infrastructure Services began to lay plans for installing a total of up to 500 megawatts in floating solar among various facilities under its management in the state.

Photo: A 391 MW floating solar power plant has been proposed as part of a massive new hybrid energy system in Port Arthur that includes wind power and energy storage, too (cropped, courtesy of AccuSolar).