Solar Star

Solar Star is a 579-megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station near Rosamond, California that is operated and maintained by SunPower Services. When completed in June 2015, it was the world's largest solar farm in terms of installed capacity, using 1.7 million solar panels, made by SunPower and spread over 13 square kilometers (3,200 acres).[1][2][3]

Solar Star
CountryUnited States
LocationRosamond, California
Coordinates34°49′50″N 118°23′53″W
StatusOperational
Construction began2013
Commission dateJune 19, 2015
Owner(s)BHE Renewables
Operator(s)SunPower
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site area13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi), 3200 acres
Power generation
Nameplate capacity747.3 MWp,[1] 579 MWAC[2]
Capacity factor32.8% (average 2017-2019)
Annual net output1,663 GW·h, 520 MW·h/acre (average 2017-2019)
External links
Websiteus.sunpower.com

Comparison to similar plants

Compared to other photovoltaic plants of similar size, Solar Star uses a smaller number (1.7 million) of large form-factor, high-wattage, high-efficiency, higher cost crystalline silicon modules, mounted on single axis trackers. In contrast, the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and the Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW each) use a larger number (roughly 9 million) of smaller form-factor, lower wattage, lower efficiency, lower cost thin-film CdTe photovoltaic modules, mounted on fixed-tilt arrays and spread over a larger land area. Both approaches appear commercially viable.[4]

There are a number of other solar photovoltaic plants nearby:

Electricity production

Solar Star 1's nameplate capacities are 398 MWdc and 314 MWac.

Generation (MW·h) of Solar Star 1 [7]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2014 14,33228,75336,44838,21535,59636,75937,18842,31531,07024,669 325,345
2015 34,12569,83984,20097,30293,80199,40897,31581,85763,30555,84444,893 821,889
2016 39,86739,29632,63684,80291,78652352,26299,00985,11067,45650,14136,270 679,158
2017 41,43248,66779,57486,74199,308105,230102,02691,37582,00872,83750,16346,171 905,532
2018 44,31460,32367,87188,462102,351105,67497,20396,44584,32066,84149,27543,626 906,705
2019 40,95650,11270,90978,74182,254100,807100,508100,12782,96574,35849,29431,357 862,388
2020 50,54761,60256,73360,814 229,696
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019)891,541

Solar Star 2's nameplate capacities are 350 MWdc and 266 MWac.

Generation (MW·h) of Solar Star 2 [8]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2014 14,32119,61030,29142,33844,48352,76752,27650,67540,44732,848 380,056
2015 40,76950,58268,53177,03687,21083,18387,90985,62572,53055,49749,89539,635 798,402
2016 34,06556,38553,77674,42789,08965,37695,25686,43873,22658,39045,75235,668 767,848
2017 36,82442,56969,73676,82471,49190,48584,70278,02371,11962,19943,42840,789 768,189
2018 38,74353,33360,03078,27590,72290,72981,90381,81474,10359,71642,77337,987 790,128
2019 35,80043,86762,15669,31672,17888,92790,39787,61072,79465,45043,78624,485 756,766
2020 44,12552,91850,63054,672 202,345
Average Annual Production (years 2017-2019)771,694

See also

References
  1. "Solar Star I and II". Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  2. "The Solar Star Projects" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-21.
  3. "Solar Star, Largest PV Power Plant in the World, Now Operational". GreenTechMedia.com. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. Wesoff, Eric (January 14, 2015). "Desert Sunlight, Another 550MW Solar Farm From First Solar, Now Fully Operational". Greentech Media. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  5. Kessler, Richard (5 February 2013). "NRG's Alpine Solar project begins operation". ReCharge News. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  6. Gunther, Edgar A. (January 9, 2013). "NRG Alpine Solar Project Nears Completion". GUNTHER Portfolio. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  7. "Solar Star 1, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  8. "Solar Star 2, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.