The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550
megawatt (MW
AC)
photovoltaic power station
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building- ...
approximately six miles north of
Desert Center
Desert Center is a census designated place in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County, California. It is in southern California, between the cities of Indio and Blythe at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 177, about halfway between Pho ...
,
California,
United States, in the
Mojave Desert. It uses approximately 8.8 million
cadmium telluride modules made by the US
thin-film manufacturer
First Solar. As of Fall 2015, the Solar Farm has the same 550 MW installed capacity as the
Topaz Solar Farm in the Carrizo Plain region of Central California, making both of them tied for the second
largest completed solar plants by installed capacity.
[FirstSolar.co]
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
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Project details
Project construction took place in two phases, both of which are supported by power purchase agreements
A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...
.
Phase I has a capacity of 300 MW, which will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Phase II has a capacity of 250 MW, which will be sold to Southern California Edison. The project was expected to involve more than 550 construction jobs in