The McCoy Solar Energy Project is a 250
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
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 the city of
Blythe 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, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
.
It occupies about of mostly public land in the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
. The construction uses CdTe thin film panels from First Solar, and the output is being sold to
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison (SCE), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electric utility company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of approximate ...
under a
power purchase agreement.
[McCoy Project Timeline]
/ref>
The project is located adjacent to the 235 MW Blythe Solar Energy Center, together forming a larger 485 MW complex. The 550 MW Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550-megawatt (MW AC) photovoltaic power station approximately six miles north of Desert Center, California, United States, in the Mojave Desert. It was made by the US thin-film manufacturer First Solar. It ...
is located approximately west in Riverside County. The 450 MW Desert Quartzite project 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 ...
, which got preliminary approval in early 2020, is also in the area.
History
The project was initially proposed in early 2013 for a final capacity of 750 MW, making it potentially one of the world's largest solar plants.
''The Desert Sun'', February 10, 2015
Electricity Production
See also
*
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550-megawatt (MW AC) photovoltaic power station approximately six miles north of Desert Center, California, United States, in the Mojave Desert. It was made by the US thin-film manufacturer First Solar. It ...
*
Blythe Mesa Solar Power Project
*
Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert
There are several solar power plants in the Mojave Desert which supply power to the electricity grid. Insolation (solar radiation) in the Mojave Desert is among the best available in the United States, and some significant population centers ar ...
References
{{Solar power in the United States
Solar power in the Mojave Desert
Photovoltaic power stations in the United States
Buildings and structures in Riverside County, California
Solar power stations in California
Energy infrastructure completed in 2016
2016 establishments in California
NextEra Energy