Red-Tailed Hawk: The Solar Power Plant Heralding the End of Fossil Fuels in Texas
ACCIONA Energía's largest photovoltaic plant globally has begun supplying renewable energy to Texas, the heart of the U.S. oil industry.
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“A devil, a born devil, on whose nature nurture can never stick” is a phrase Shakespeare penned in his play The Tempest. In the late 19th century, English psychologist Francis Galton used these terms—nature and nurture—to modernize an age-old debate: Are we shaped by our genes (nature) or by our circumstances (nurture)? In other words, are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors, or can we change?
On January 10, 1901, a borehole in Beaumont, near Houston, unleashed a massive oil geyser, bathing hundreds of square meters and taking nine days to cap. This event ignited the oil boom that would shape our civilization, following the path started by coal during the First Industrial Revolution.
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This primordial well peaked in production in 1924, symbolizing a fraught relationship between man and nature, based on the exploitation of finite resources. The result, in the form of global warming, is well known. Red-Tailed Hawk represents another symbol, this time of change. Located in Wharton County, a two-hour drive from the Beaumont oil field, it is the largest photovoltaic complex ever built by ACCIONA. It began operations in 2024, exactly a century after the peak production of that nearby Beaumont well.
Today, Red-Tailed Hawk provides clean energy equivalent to the annual consumption of over sixty-six thousand Texas homes. This article explores its impact and the profound transformation occurring in this U.S. region, where we also operate a battery storage project in Hunt County, three wind farms in Cameron County, and a solar farm in Fort Bend County.
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FROM CATTLE TO SOLAR PANELS
Born in Rhode Island in 1834, Abel H. Pierce was a lanky young man seeking fortune in Cuba. Stowing away on a ship, he was soon discovered and forced to disembark on the Texas coast. Abel seized his new opportunity, working on ranches and transporting goods, eventually earning small parcels of land. He sold these to try his luck in Kansas City. Upon returning to Texas, he acquired land that became Pierce Ranch in Wharton County, where he focused on cattle ranching.
Abel died on December 26, 1900, just two weeks before the Beaumont well triggered the oil rush. He never witnessed the oil age, much less the technology that would succeed it: the ambitious Red-Tailed Hawk photovoltaic plant now operating on his old ranch.
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How Red-Tailed Hawk was born
As our largest photovoltaic initiative to date, with an annual production of 742 GWh, the construction of Red-Tailed Hawk required mobilizing a vast number of workers. Including supervisors, operators, and suppliers, over six hundred people were involved in the construction and installation of the complex, with peaks of four hundred simultaneous workers at its busiest. In total, it took two years of effort to bring it online.
While a photovoltaic park generally poses fewer construction challenges than other renewable energy installations, such as wind farms in mountainous areas, we still face certain obstacles. For example, we had to study and delineate the ranch's water drainage areas to ensure that the installation of the solar panels would not negatively impact the local aquifers.
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"Over six hundred people were involved in the construction and installation of the complex."
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- Spindletop was an oil field located in the southern part of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States.
- The Pierce Ranch House is a historic house located in Wharton County, Texas. Image source: pierceranchhouse.com
- Located in Wharton County, Texas, Red-Tailed Hawk is currently ACCIONA Energía's largest photovoltaic project in the world
- The project involved more than 600 people in the construction and installation of the complex.
- We rely on local companies and service providers during construction and operation
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A multicultural and diverse team
A diverse team of fifteen engineers and construction experts from countries like Indonesia, Spain, Mexico, India, and the USA enabled the construction of this complex, which can produce up to 460 MWh.
This project also fostered young talent, exemplified by Fidelino Siahaan, an electrical engineer and recent Texas A&M University graduate, who began his career at Red-Tailed Hawk. Part of our commitment includes mentoring programs for newcomers to share senior engineers' knowledge and experience
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Solar (and social) energy
The Red-Tailed Hawk solar farm coexists with the agricultural activities of Pierce Ranch, which now produces rice, corn, sorghum, and cotton, among other crops. In the area, oak trees are also being planted, and native plant species are being restored.
Over the next thirty years of operation, the plant will contribute millions of dollars to the State of Texas. However, the team behind the facility also believes strongly in social involvement and community work.
Thus, the staff is collaborating with The Crisis Center, which helps women and children suffering from domestic abuse, providing food for the Food Pantry/Wharton SHARE assistance programs, and contributing to children's intellectual development through the Bess the Book Bus initiative, which distributes books to local children.
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A paradigm shift
At the beginning of this article, we mentioned the year 1901, which marked the start of large-scale oil production in Texas and became the engine of the world economy for over a century. We also questioned whether change is possible.
At ACCIONA, we know that time is of the essence and that the maximum temperature increase targets set in the 2015 Paris Agreement are already being exceeded. However, we are convinced that it is possible to move towards a more sustainable, carbon-neutral world. Besides the commencement of operations at Red-Tailed Hawk, we have another fact that confirms this: in March 2024, solar energy production surpassed coal for the first time in Texas history.
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"In March 2024, solar energy production surpassed coal for the first time in Texas history."
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‘King size’ photovoltaics: building 1.3 GW peak of solar power capacity in the USA
ACCIONA ENERGÍA Is involved in the biggest photovoltaic challenge in its 30 years’ experience in the renewables sector: building solar plants in the United States consisting of more than two million solar panels on a total surface area equivalent to more than 1,600 football fields.
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