Houston-based Buckeye Partners' solar 'Project Parker' in central Texas will grow company's renewables portfolio, VP says

A Houston-based petroleum distributor's recent announcement that it will build a 270-megawatt solar project in central Texas is strategic, a company executive said in a news release.

Hiring the Kansas City, Missouri engineering firm Black & Veatch as contractor on the project is aimed at creating sustainable energy solutions and stakeholder value, according to Buckeye Partners' news release. Black & Veatch will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the photovoltaic solar project, called "Project Parker."

"Our strategy is squarely focused on energy diversity and lower-carbon solutions, and we are excited to partner with Black & Veatch to advance this critical solar project," Buckeye Partners Executive Vice President of Strategy and Alternative Energy Todd J. Russo said in the Jan. 27 news release. "Project Parker will further expand Buckeye's growing renewable portfolio and add additional momentum to our ESG initiatives and continued progress in the space."

Buckeye Partners, a 135-year-old company that carries petroleum throughout the nations' east and midwest of the country, manages more than 6,200 miles of pipeline and more than 100 truck-loading terminals. Buckeye Partners was acquired by the Australia-based investment firm IFM Investors in November 2019.

Buckeye Partners purchased the construction-ready solar project that now is Project Parker from San Antonio-based OCI Solar Power in August.

Project Parker, to be built on two adjacent sites near Waco in Falls County and include more than 500,000 solar panels, is expected to be completed earlier next year.

Project Parker is a "critical renewable energy project, which adds to the company's growing and diversified portfolio of lower-carbon solutions," the news release said.

"We are committed to deploying our deep expertise in clean energy to support clients on the leading edge of the energy transition such as Buckeye partners with their decarbonization goals," said Black & Veatch Energy & Process Industries Business President Mario Azar said in the news release.

The U.S. solar market grew by 43% in 2020, almost twice the 23% increase in 2019, according to a U.S. Solar Market Insight 2020 Year-in-Review report released by Wood Mackenzie in March of last year. Wood Mackenzie, a solar energy industries association and energy research consultant, also reported that the U.S. can expect the U.S. solar market to quadruple by 2030.