Desert Sunlight Solar Farm

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station approximately six miles north of Desert Center, California, 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.[1][2]

Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
Solar arrays at Desert Sunlight
CountryUnited States
LocationRiverside County, California
Coordinates33°49′17″N 115°23′38″W
StatusOperational
Construction began2011
Commission date2015
Owner(s)NextEra Energy Resources, GE Energy Financial Services, Sumitomo Group
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
fixed tilt
Site area16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi), 3900acres
Power generation
Nameplate capacity550 MWAC
Capacity factor27.5% (average 2015-2018)
Annual net output1,325 GW·h,
340 MW·h/acre
External links
Websitefirstsolar.com

Project details

Project construction took place in two phases, both of which are supported by power purchase agreements.

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.[3] The project was built on over 6 square miles (16 km2) of creosote bush-dominated desert habitat near Desert Center next to Joshua Tree National Park.[4] Construction began in September, 2011 and final completion was in January 2015.[2]

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.[3]

Electricity production
Total Facility Generation
(Annual Sum from Both Units Below)
YearTotal Annual MW·h
2013 104,301
2014 1,020,905
2015 1,286,763
2016 1,346,282
2017 1,321,129
2018 1,344,841
Average (2015-2018) 1,324,754
Generation (MW·h) of Desert Sunlight 250, LLC [5]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2013 12,87715,657 28,534
2014 21,77327,20734,90141,46139,40043,82951,57239,49746,36046,36446,79334,333 473,490
2015 40,39947,89456,37159,56960,77557,71558,34858,78739,09747,56245,79141,633 613,941
2016 39,15150,93355,13554,19863,11859,00861,05157,52653,06250,94743,47636,137 623,742
2017 25,22528,17552,53955,35469,59875,42468,75063,53659,32954,65533,58632,031 618,201
2018 28,72240,50146,31057,89469,78475,18864,99065,44261,95048,80933,57326,709 619,921
Generation (MW·h) of Desert Sunlight 300, LLC [6]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2013 10,01532,70933,043 75,767
2014 32,31234,61544,99845,87643,73347,20545,69844,64266,53151,57152,96037,274 547,415
2015 45,80252,96660,74264,54161,36763,14763,62063,51744,39853,46751,54347,712 672,822
2016 44,90358,49261,87560,22374,22070,24172,66167,90761,62358,04150,54241,812 722,540
2017 28,68232,03659,74062,94079,13785,76178,17272,24367,46062,14638,18936,421 702,928
2018 33,64547,36154,15467,69981,60487,92275,99876,52772,44357,07639,25931,232 724,920

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.[7] The group cites damage to visual resources, and impacts on desert species.[8]

See also

References
  1. Goldenstein, Taylor ( 9 February 2015) "Huge solar farm opens in California: Enough energy for 160,000 homes" Los Angeles Times.
  2. FirstSolar.com Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
  3. "DOE Closes on Four Major Solar Projects". Renewable Energy World. 30 September 2011.
  4. "Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project". Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  5. "Desert Sunlight 250, LLC, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  6. "Desert Sunlight 300, LLC, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  7. Danelski, David (April 16, 2015). "SOLAR POWER: Inland plants boost state to No. 1". The Press-Enterprise. Riverside, California.
  8. "Group Calls For Strict Limits on Solar Power Near National Parks". KCET. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.


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