The Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 (AVSR1) is a 230

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

(MW_AC)

photovoltaic power plant 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 ...

near Lancaster within

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...

, in the western

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, Southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It uses cadmium telluride modules made by the US

thin-film A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer (monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ap ...

manufacturer

First Solar First Solar, Inc. is an American manufacturer of solar panels, and a provider of utility-scale PV power plants and supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses rigid thi ...

. The project was developed by

and later bought by Exelon Corporation in 2011.GreenTechMedia.com, Herman K. Trabish
First Solar Cleared to Resume Construction in Antelope Valley
19 May 2013 The solar facility was fully commissioned in April 2014.

Overview

In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a $646 million loan guarantee to support the project's construction. This loan guarantee was part of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

. The project is expected to create 350 construction jobs and 20 permanent jobs. On February 20, 2013, the first 100 MW_AC came online. The plant will use approximately 3.8 million solar panels, about 20% of which will be mounted on single-axis tracking racks. When fully operational, the plant is expected to generate enough energy for 75,000 homes, displacing 140,000 tons of CO₂. The power generated by AVSR1 is being purchased by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.

Electricity Production

References

{{Solar power in the United States Solar power in the Mojave Desert Solar Ranch Photovoltaic power stations in the United States Solar power stations in California Buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California

Overview

Electricity Production

See also

References