The French power utility EDF is significantly increasing its presence in the renewable energy market in Europe and North America.

The U.S. independent power producer EDF Renewable Energy, which is a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, announced the creation of Distributed Electricity and Storage (DES), a new unit specializing in the development of distributed solar and storage projects up to 30 MW.

DES will implement new solar-plus-storage business models for corporate, institutional and utility customers in partnership with EDF affiliates in North America.

EDF EN said the new unit will offer energy supply, hedging, and risk management, along with options for demand response, load management, and on- and off-site renewable generation. The company began expanding its presence in the United States with the acquisition of contractor and developer GroSolar in early 2016, which builds commercial and industrial PV systems.

Additionally, the company’s French renewable energy unit EDF Energies Nouvelles has announced that it will build wind and PV power plants with a combined capacity of 190 MW in France this year. Of this capacity, however, only 23.7 MW is for PV projects.