Westlands Solar Park

Solar farm in Kings County, California
36°10′N 119°56′W / 36.167°N 119.933°W / 36.167; -119.933StatusOperationalCommission dateJune 2016Solar farmTypeFlat-panel PVSite area21,000 acres (8,500 ha)Power generationNameplate capacity2 MWExternal linksWebsitewww.westlandssolarpark.com
[edit on Wikidata]

The Westlands Solar Park is large-scale solar power project in Kings County south of Fresno, California. It intends to build many photovoltaic power plants with a capacity totaling upwards of 2,000 megawatts (MW),[1][2] larger than the world's largest photovoltaic power plants operating as of 2017. It will be constructed on brownfield land owned by the Westlands Water District that is unusable for agriculture due to excess salt pollution.[3][4]

Initial operation of a 2 MW demonstration project began in 2016, with the power sold to Anaheim Public Utilities.[5] Additional projects of 20 MW and 250 MW are in various stages of planning, as of 2017.[6] The developers planned to have 700 MW online by 2021,[7] with full build-out by 2025.[8] The real estate investment firm CIM Group joined the project in 2014.[9] In 2017, plans for the site were downsized from 2,400 MW to 2,000 MW and 24,000 acres (9,700 ha) to 21,000 acres (8,500 ha).[2] Construction began in 2020.[10]

The first 125 MW phase of the Aquamarine project opened in September 2021, with the second 125 MW opening by the end of the year.[11]

Phases

Project Capacity Status Commission Date Power purchase agreements References
Westside Solar WSP PV1 2 MW Operational August 12, 2016 Anaheim Public Utilities [12][5]
Westside Solar WSP PV2 20 MW In Development [6]
Westlands Aquamarine 250 MW Operational September 2021, February 2022 SMUD, SVP, VCEA [13][11]
Westlands Chestnut 150 MW In Development [14]
Westlands Solar Blue 250 MW In Development [14]
RE Slate 300 MW In Development SVCE, MBCP [14]
RE Slate ESS 300 MW In Development SVCE, MBCP [14]

Electricity production

It produced 4,739 MWh in 2020.[15]

See also

  • flagCalifornia portal
  • iconRenewable energy portal

References

  1. ^ "Westlands Solar Park". Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Lindt, John (September 14, 2017). "Westlands Solar Park files notice it will downsize plan". The Hanford Sentinel.
  3. ^ Woody, Todd (August 10, 2010). "Recycling Land for Green Energy Ideas". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Ecologists, growers agree site would work for solar farm". The Associated Press. Portland Press Herald. March 22, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Westside Solar WSP PV1". Anaheim Public Utilities.
  6. ^ a b Lindt, John (May 4, 2017). "Kings largest solar farm proposed". The Hanford Sentinel.
  7. ^ Nidever, Seth (September 29, 2016). "Official: Giant solar proposal poised for growth". The Hanford Sentinel.
  8. ^ "Renewable Energy". Westlands Water District.
  9. ^ Nidever, Seth (July 9, 2014). "Kings County solar project gets financial backing". The Hanford Sentinel.
  10. ^ "Ground broken on 2.7-GW solar complex in California". Renewablesnow.com.
  11. ^ a b "CIM Group Announces Completion and Commercial Operation of First 125-Megawatt Phase of Aquamarine Solar Photovoltaic Project at Westlands Solar Park". www.businesswire.com. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  12. ^ "Westside Solar Project: Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration". Kings County Community Development Agency. March 2015.
  13. ^ "Westlands Solar Park flips switch on Aquamarine". The Business Journal. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  14. ^ a b c d "Kings County solar projects advance | Sierra2theSea". sierra2thesea.net. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  15. ^ "Westside Solar Power PV1, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved July 28, 2017.

External links

  • Official site
  • Google Earth KMZ file
  • v
  • t
  • e
By state
Power plants
Companies
Organizations
Other
  • Category
  • Commons