The Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West is a 150
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
(MW)
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 ...
built in
Imperial County
Imperial County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, ranking as the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat and largest city is ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Construction began in 2014 and full commercial operation was achieved in September 2016. Power is sold to
San Diego Gas & Electric
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE or SDG&E) is a regulated public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to San Diego County and southern Orange County in southwestern California, United States. It is owned by Sempra, a ''Fortune'' 50 ...
on a 25-year agreement.
The project utilizes 1.8 million
thin-film
A thin film is a layer of materials 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 a ...
photovoltaic modules made of
CdTe, designed and manufactured by
First Solar
First Solar, Inc. is a publicly traded American manufacturer of solar panels, and provider of utility-scale PV power plants, supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses ...
and covers an area of . The plant is owned by CSOLAR IV South, LLC, an affiliate of
Tenaska.
Electricity production
See also
*
Solar power in California
Solar power has been growing rapidly in the U.S. state of California because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, and a renewable portfolio standard which requires that 60% of California's electricity come from renew ...
*
List of photovoltaic power stations
The following is a list of photovoltaic power stations that are larger than 500 megawatts (MW) in current net capacity.Note that nominal power may be AC or DC, depending on the plant, and therefore any totals quoted are hybrid. SeAC-DC conundru ...
References
{{Solar power in the United States
Buildings and structures in Imperial County, California
Solar power stations in California
Photovoltaic power stations in the United States