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The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550 megawatt (MW AC)
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
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A 230 MW and 920 MWh (4-hour) battery storage power station was added in 2022.
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.coDesert Sunlight Solar Farm
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Project details
Project construction took place in two phases, both of which are supported bypower 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 Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
. The project was built on over of creosote bush-dominated desert habitat near 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 ...
next to Joshua Tree National Park. Construction began in September, 2011 and final completion was in January 2015.
The $1.46 billion in loans for the project are partially guaranteed by DOE and will be funded by a group of investors led by Goldman Sachs Lending Partners, which submitted the project under the Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP), and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as co-lead arranger.
A 230 MW and 920 MWh (4-hour) battery storage power station was added in 2022.
Electricity production
Environmental issues
In 2012 the National Parks Conservation Association issued a report identifying three desert solar power plants sited within five miles of National Parks in the California Desert as projects that they suggest should not have been approved in their locations, including the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm. The group cites damage to visual resources, and impacts on desert species.See also
* * Topaz Solar Farm * Photovoltaics * List of photovoltaic power stationsReferences
{{Solar power in the United States Solar power in the Mojave Desert Solar power stations in California Buildings and structures in Riverside County, California Desert Center, California Energy infrastructure completed in 2015 2015 establishments in California NextEra Energy