VivoPower International PLC has renamed its US solar development unit, formerly known as Innovative Solar Ventures I LLC, and renamed the company to Caret LLC. The company also announced a new Power-to-X strategy for the company to maximize value with a view to a possible future exit (previously announced).
Caret comprises 12 solar projects in the development stage with a total output of 682 MW DC, 11 in Texas and one in New Mexico. The projects are strategically located in areas with relatively low solar project penetration. Each of the Caret projects has reached a medium to late stage of development, with extensive network and environmental studies being completed and land being secured for up to 40 years.
Given the increasing potential demand from Power-to-X applications and partners, the company is currently re-evaluating previously abandoned projects.
“Power-to-X stands for the use of excess renewable energy beyond the base load for other energy-intensive applications,” says Kevin Chin, Executive Chairman and CEO of VivoPower. “This includes cryptocurrency mining, where we see an increasing appetite from crypto mining groups to vertically integrate their operations to include renewable energy generation facilities. Another area in which we expect strong demand is in the area of green hydrogen. This will be especially the case when the US $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure bill is passed, given the attractive incentives in the bill for green hydrogen developers and producers. We believe that the Power-to-X potential of Caret's projects represents a strategic path to maximize value, even if isolated solar development is no longer our core business. We intend to reinvest proceeds from a possible monetization of Caret projects (with Power-to-X applications) in our core strategy for sustainable energy solutions (“SES”). “