Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
Photovoltaic power station in California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550-megawatt (MWAC) fixed-tilt photovoltaic power station approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Desert Center, California, United States, in the Mojave Desert.[1] It was made by the US thin-film manufacturer First Solar but now has split ownership between NextEra Energy Resources, Clearway Energy, and California Public Employee's Retirement System (CalPERS).[2][3][4] It 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 as of fall 2015.[5][6]
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| Desert Sunlight Solar Farm | |
|---|---|
Solar arrays at Desert Sunlight | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Riverside County, California |
| Coordinates | 33°49′17″N 115°23′38″W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 2011 |
| Commission date | 2015 |
| Owners | NextEra Energy Resources, Clearway Energy, CalPERS |
| Solar farm | |
| Type | Flat-panel PV fixed tilt |
| Site area | 3,900 acres (1,600 ha) |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 550 MWAC |
| Capacity factor | 27.5% (average 2015-2018) |
| Annual net output | 1,325 GW·h, 340 MW·h/acre (462.4 MW·h/hectare) |
| External links | |
| Website | firstsolar.com |
Project details
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.[7] Construction began in September 2011 and final completion was in January 2015.[6][8]
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The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm was expanded with battery energy storage systems (BESS) in 2022 and 2024. Desert Sunlight Battery Energy Storage System, also known as Sunlight Storage I, was the first phase of BESS that added 230 MW of 4-hour storage to the facility[9] and became operational in 2022.[10] Sunlight Storage II added an additional 300 MW of 4-hour storage the facility[11] and became operational in 2024.[12] The combined total of the two storage facilities is 530 MW of 4-hour storage, or 2,120 MWh. Both storage facilities were built within the fence line of the original solar facility and therefore caused minimal new environmental impacts.[11]
Electricity production
| Year | Total 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 |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 12,877 | 15,657 | 28,534 | ||||||||||
| 2014 | 21,773 | 27,207 | 34,901 | 41,461 | 39,400 | 43,829 | 51,572 | 39,497 | 46,360 | 46,364 | 46,793 | 34,333 | 473,490 |
| 2015 | 40,399 | 47,894 | 56,371 | 59,569 | 60,775 | 57,715 | 58,348 | 58,787 | 39,097 | 47,562 | 45,791 | 41,633 | 613,941 |
| 2016 | 39,151 | 50,933 | 55,135 | 54,198 | 63,118 | 59,008 | 61,051 | 57,526 | 53,062 | 50,947 | 43,476 | 36,137 | 623,742 |
| 2017 | 25,225 | 28,175 | 52,539 | 55,354 | 69,598 | 75,424 | 68,750 | 63,536 | 59,329 | 54,655 | 33,586 | 32,031 | 618,201 |
| 2018 | 28,722 | 40,501 | 46,310 | 57,894 | 69,784 | 75,188 | 64,990 | 65,442 | 61,950 | 48,809 | 33,573 | 26,709 | 619,921 |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 10,015 | 32,709 | 33,043 | 75,767 | |||||||||
| 2014 | 32,312 | 34,615 | 44,998 | 45,876 | 43,733 | 47,205 | 45,698 | 44,642 | 66,531 | 51,571 | 52,960 | 37,274 | 547,415 |
| 2015 | 45,802 | 52,966 | 60,742 | 64,541 | 61,367 | 63,147 | 63,620 | 63,517 | 44,398 | 53,467 | 51,543 | 47,712 | 672,822 |
| 2016 | 44,903 | 58,492 | 61,875 | 60,223 | 74,220 | 70,241 | 72,661 | 67,907 | 61,623 | 58,041 | 50,542 | 41,812 | 722,540 |
| 2017 | 28,682 | 32,036 | 59,740 | 62,940 | 79,137 | 85,761 | 78,172 | 72,243 | 67,460 | 62,146 | 38,189 | 36,421 | 702,928 |
| 2018 | 33,645 | 47,361 | 54,154 | 67,699 | 81,604 | 87,922 | 75,998 | 76,527 | 72,443 | 57,076 | 39,259 | 31,232 | 724,920 |
