Solar Power Plants in California
Solar Power Plants in California
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Blythe Solar Location: CA Operator: NRG Energy Configuration: 21 MWp PV Operation: 2009 System supplier: First Solar EPC: First Solar Quick facts: This facility went commercial on 21 Dec 2009 as the largest PV power plant in California. Electricity is sold to Southern California Edison under a 20yr PPA. The site is in Riverside County about 200mi east of Los Angelese and is the largest thin-film PV project in the United States. Approximately 175 people worked on Blythe during its 3mo construction and commissioning period.
Photograph courtesy of First Solar Inc
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Bob Hope Airport Location: CA Operator: Avjet Corp Configuration: 268 kWp PV Operation: 2008 System supplier: Kyocera EPC: Independence Power Quick facts: This solar power system meets 100% of the requirements for the new Hangar 25 and attached office building at Burbank's Airport. The structure was built by Shangri-La Construction and Independence Power installed the PV system, which has 1,530 Kyocera 175W panels on a custom steel superstructure. Power conditioning is provided by a Xantrex GT-250 inverter. The roof design was complex as it has the solar power system, over 220 large skylights, and a number of evaporative coolers. The PV system is expected to produce over 450,000 kWh/yr.
Photograph courtesy of Independence Power |
Cal Expo Solarport Location: CA Operator: Sacramento Municipal Utility District Configuration: 540 kWp PV Operation: 2000 System supplier: Siemens BP, Energy PhotoVoltaics EPC: Kyocera Quick facts: This was the largest solar parking lot installation in the world at completion. Each cantilevered structure has three rows of tracking panels. Each of the 20 arrays, made up of 685 modules, measures 130ft long, 42ft wide and 14ft high. The US Dept of Energy assisted with funding.
Photograph courtesy of Sacramento Municipal
Utility Dist
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Cal State Hayward Location: CA Operator: Cal State Hayward Configuration: 1,050 kWp PV Operation: 2004 System supplier: PowerLight Corp Quick facts: At completion, this four-building array was the largest university-based PV system in the USA. It supplies about 30% of the campus peak demand.
Photograph courtesy of RWE Schott Solar |
Cal State Northridge Location: CA Operator: Cal State Northridge Configuration: 100 kWp PV Operation: 2010 System supplier: Spectrolab EPC: Boeing Quick facts: This installation comprises 23 high-concentration XR700 PV panels on the campus of Cal State Northridge. Spectrolab is a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing and the world's largest manufacturer of space solar cells.
Photograph courtesy of Boeing Corp |
Cache Creek Casino Location: CA Operator: Cache Creek Casino Resort Configuration: 307 kWp PV Operation: 2004 System supplier: RWE Schott
Photograph courtesy of RWE Schott Solar
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Cerro Coso Community College Location: CA Operator: Cerro Coso Community College Configuration: 1 MWp PV Operation: 2004 System supplier: Sharp, WorldWater & Power, Contra Costa Electric Quick facts: This $8.9mn installation covers 6.5ac.
Photograph courtesy of WorldWater & Power Corp
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Earth Island Foods Location: CA Operator: Earth Island Natural Foods Configuration: 113 kWp PV Operation: 2004 System supplier: RWE Schott, Permacity Corp
Photograph by David Lena and courtesy of RWE Schott Solar |
Far West Rice Location: CA Operator: Far West Solar LLC Configuration: 1 MWp PV Operation: 2008 System supplier: Mitsubishi Electric EPC: Pacific Power Management Quick facts: This 4ac array has over 5,500 modules and should supply about 1.4 GWh/yr. This would be 70-80% of the rice mill's annual electricity requirement. The installation took 12wks to build.
Photograph courtesy of Power |
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Googleplex Location: CA Operator: Google Configuration: 1.6 MWp PV Operation: 2007 System supplier: Sharp EPC: EI Solutions Quick facts: At completion, this system was said to be the largest on any corporate campus in the USA. Construction began in Oct 2006 and was completed on schedule and on budget in Jun 2007. The installation has 9,212 solar panels installed on rooftops with multiple architectures requiring four different mounting systems. Other panels were placed on newly constructed carports Average annual output is expected to be 2.6 WGh.
Photograph courtesy of Google
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Kimberlina Solar Thermal Location: CA Owner/Operator: Ausra, Inc Configuration: 5 MW Operation: 2008 System Supplier: Ausra EPC: Ausra, TIC Quick facts: Kimberlina near Bakersfield is the first solar thermal power plant to be built and enter operation in California in nearly 20yrs. It is also the first solar thermal power plant in North America to incorporate Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology, already in operation in Australia. The steam turbine is shared with Clean Energy Systems Inc which owns and operates an experimental gas-fired plant on adjacent property. Gross output of the Kimberlina solar thermal steam cycle is about 3.5 MW.
Photograph courtesy of Ausra Inc
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Metro Bus Location: CA Operator: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Configuration: 247 kWp PV Operation: 2005 System supplier: Schott EPC: SolSource Energy Quick facts: Two identical arrays of 1,648 RWE Schott Solar ASE 300w solar modules were located on the flat roofs of two identical Metro maintenance and transportation buildings at Bus Divisions 8 and 15 located in Chatsworth and Sun Valley. The PV system is expected to reduce Metro’s electrical consumption by 15% at each location. These are the largest such installations in the transit industry and cost a total of $3.3mn, half of which was recovered through rebates from Southern California Gas Co and LADWP.
Photograph courtesy of Schott Solar
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Oakland Hub Location: CA Operator: FedEx Corp Configuration: 904 kWp PV Operation: 2005 System supplier: PLC Quick facts: This 80,000 sq ft array covers over 90% of the FedEx hub's electricity requirements. At completion, it was California's largest corporate solar power installation
Photograph courtesy of FedEx Corp
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Ontario Distribution Center Location: CA Operator: Timberland Co Configuration: 402 kWp PV Operation: 2006 System supplier: Sharp EPC: Northern Power Systems Quick facts: This installation is one of the largest commercial solar projects in California and features 1,960 PV modules in strings of 14 mounted on a steel structure built in the distribution center’s truckyard. The system is expected to produce about 60% of the facility's electrical load. California's Self-Generation Incentive Program supplied a $1.5mn rebate for the investment and Timberland will retain all of the green credits associated with the power generated by the system.
Photograph courtesy by Timberland Co
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Paramount Farms Location: CA Operator: Paramount Farms Configuration: 1.1 MWp PV Operation: 2007 System supplier: Uni-Solar EPC: SolarCraft Quick facts: This $7.5mn facility is in California's San Joaquin Valley and covers 8ac. It utilizes amorphous thin-film PV cells. Paramount Farms is the world's largest vertically integrated supplier of pistachios and almonds with a combined 52,000ac of nut orchards with around 4mn trees.
Photograph courtesy of Business Wire
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Rancho Seco PV Location: CA Operator: Sacramento Municipal Utility District Configuration: 3,900 kWp PV Operation: 1984-2000 System supplier: Arco, Siemens Quick facts: For a time, this was the second largest PV complex in the USA and has been built up at the site of the retired Rancho Seco nuclear plant.
Photograph courtesy of Sacramento Municipal
Utility Dist
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San Carlos Location: CA Operator: City of San Carlos Configuration: 40 kWp PV Operation: 2005 System supplier: RWE Schott, Emcor Quick facts: This is part of a 60-kW system on the city maintenance yard that won an award from The Public Technology Institute (PTI).
Photograph by Emcor and courtesy of RWE Schott
Solar |
SEGS-A Location: CA Operator: Daggett Leasing Corp Configuration: 1 X 13.8 MW, 1 X 30 MW solar trough Operation: 1984-1985 T/G supplier: WH, ABB EPC: Luz International, Solargenix, Blount Intl Quick facts: These plants are at Daggett. The first block is out of service. Natural gas is used for supplemental steam production.
Photograph courtesy of National Renewable
Energy Laboratory
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SEGS-B Location: CA Operator: FPL Energy LLC Configuration: 5 X 30 MW solar trough Operation: 1986-1988 T/G supplier: ABB EPC: Luz International, Solargenix, Blount Intl Quick facts: These plants are at Kramer Junction and represent the largest solar power complex in the world. The solar fields cover approximately 1,000ac and have 400,000 individual mirrors.
Photograph courtesy of Power
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Seley Ranches Location: CA Operator: Seley Ranches Configuration: 267 kWp PV Operation: 2004 System supplier: WorldWater & Power Quick facts: This system powers a 200 HP pump and, at completion, was considered the largest solar-powered irrigation system in the world.
Photograph courtesy of WorldWater & Power Corp
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Sierra SunTower Location: CA Operator: Southern California Edison Co Configuration: 5 MW collector Operation: 2009 System supplier: eSolar T/G supplier: GE Quick facts: The Sierra plant was launched on 5 Aug 2009 near Lancaster, CA and is the first full-scale installation of this modular, solar collector plant design. This 20ac facility uses 24,000 mirrors and two receivers, each atop a 160ft tower. A refurbished 1947 GE T/G set is the prime mover The scale-up is to 46-MW power units covering about 160ac, each with a steam T/G set and condenser cooling system.
Photograph courtesy of eSolar Inc |
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Solar-II Location: CA Operator: Southern California Edison Co Configuration: 10 MW collector Operation: 1996 (ret 1999) System supplier: SCE, DOE T/G supplier: GE Quick facts: This demonstration plant replaced Solar-I which went online in 1982 as the world's first full-scale solar tower system of its kind. Solar-II used 2,000 motorized mirrors (heliostats) to focus reflected solar energy onto 24 receivers atop a 300ft tower. There, a molten salt mix was heated to 1050 deg F and routed to a heat exchanger to produce superheated steam for a conventional T/G set.
Photograph courtesy of Southern California Edison Co
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Solarmine Location: CA Operator: Chrevron Configuration: 500 kWp PV Operation: 2003 System supplier: Uni-Solar Quick facts: When completed, this 6ac array of amorphous-silicon cells was the largest of its kind and also the first solar power plant purpose-built to help power oil-field operations. The facility has 4,800 flexible solar panels, each 1.3 ft wide and 18ft long, mounted on metal frames. Unlike glass-based photovoltaic systems, these panels can withstand direct impacts and punctures without losing their ability to generate power.
Photograph courtesy of Power |
Yucca Valley Location: CA Operator: City of San Carlos Configuration: 56.7 kWp PV Operation: 2005 System supplier: RWE Schott, Emcor Quick facts: The PV system has 324 modules and is installed on a new, standing seam metal roof on the Yucca Valley Community Center. The system is expected to produce approximately one-third of the complex’s energy needs.
Photograph courtesy of RWE Schott Solar |
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Data: industcards, Platts UDI World Electric Power Plants Data Base
Updated 06/26/10