Buckeye Partners Selects Black & Veatch to Build 270-MW Solar Project in Central Texas

Venture reflects continued focus on energy transition and sustainability leadership

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With a clear focus on creating sustainable energy solutions and value for its stakeholders, Buckeye Partners, L.P. will build a 270-megawatt solar project in central Texas. To develop this critical renewable energy project, which adds to the company’s growing and diversified portfolio of lower-carbon solutions, Houston-based Buckeye has selected Black & Veatch to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the planned Project Parker photovoltaic solar project.

“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 Mario Azar, President of Black & Veatch’s Energy & Process Industries business.

Project Parker will be located on two adjacent sites near Waco, Texas, in Falls County. Construction of the project, which will include more than 500,000 solar panels, is to be completed in early 2023. Buckeye announced the initial project investment in August of this year.

“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,” said Todd J. Russo, Buckeye’s Executive Vice President, Strategy and Alternative Energy. “Project Parker will further expand Buckeye’s growing renewable portfolio and add additional momentum to our ESG initiatives and continued progress in the space.”

According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2020 Year-in-Review report, released in March 2021 by the Solar Energy Industries Association and energy research consultant Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. solar market grew by 43 percent in 2020, nearly double the 23-percent increase in 2019. Last year’s installed U.S. electric generating capacity was a record 19.2 gigawatts. Wood Mackenzie expects the U.S. solar market to quadruple by 2030, when the equivalent of one in eight American homes is projected to have solar.

Editor’s Notes:

• The Engineering News-Record’s 2021 “Top 500 Design Firms” Sourcebook ranks Black & Veatch’s power business No. 1 for solar power services while ranking the company second overall for the sixth consecutive year in power services.
• With 2.3 million kilowatts of solar capacity installed to date and nearly 949,000 kilowatts last year, Black & Veatch ranked ninth overall in Solar Power World’s 2021 rankings, released in July, and seventh among solar EPC providers.
• Black & Veatch has been delivering solar and floating solar photovoltaic (PV) project development and implementation since 1973.
• For more details about Black & Veatch’s solutions in the solar industry, click here.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2020 exceeded US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

About Buckeye Partners

Buckeye Partners L.P., a wholly owned investment of the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, owns and operates a diversified global network of integrated assets providing liquid petroleum product logistics solutions. Across every aspect of the business – including its nearly 6,000 miles of domestic pipeline, more than 115 liquid petroleum products terminals and 127 million barrels of tank capacity – Buckeye focuses on responsibly providing world-class service to meet the changing energy needs of its customers. As part of this business priority and commitment to its customers, Buckeye is increasingly diversifying its platform to advance energy transition initiatives and decarbonization efforts. For more information about Buckeye and its ESG efforts, visit buckeye.com.