California Valley Solar Ranch

California Valley Solar Ranch
File:Solar Panels at California Valley Solar Ranch 1 (8159038006).jpg California Valley Solar Ranch solar panels
Location of California Valley Solar Ranch in California
Country	United States
Location	Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley, CA
Coordinates
Status	Operational
Construction began	2011
Commission date	October 2013
Owner(s)	NRG Solar
Operator(s)	SunPower
Solar field
Type	Flat-panel PV
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	250 MW

The California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power plant in the Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley. The project is owned by NRG Energy, and SunPower is the EPC contractor and technology provider. The project constructed on 1,966 acres (796 ha) of a 4,365-acre (1,766 ha) site of former grazing land. It is utilizing high-efficiency, crystalline PV panels designed and manufactured by SunPower. The project includes up to 88,000 SunPower solar tracking devices to hold PV panels that will track the sun across the sky.

Project overview

The project began construction in 2011, and began operation in 2012 with 22 MW completed. It was fully completed in October 2013. Once completed, "the California Valley Solar Ranch will power about 100,000 homes and will be one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in the world".

The project is being constructed on 1,966 acres (796 ha) of a 4,365-acre (1,766 ha) site of former grazing land. It is utilizing high-efficiency, crystalline PV panels designed and manufactured by SunPower. The project includes up to 88,000 SunPower solar tracking devices to hold PV panels that track the sun across the sky. The project delivers approximately 550 gigawatt-hours (GW·h) annually of renewable energy and has a capacity of 250 MW. While the plant only has a capacity factor of 25%, its power is generated during the middle of the day, when demand for electricity — and price — is much higher than at night.

Power Purchase Agreement

On August 14, 2008, Pacific Gas and Electric announced an agreement to buy all the power from the power plant. A Conditional Use Permit application for the project was filed with the County of San Luis Obispo Planning and Building Department on January 14, 2009. On November 30, 2010, NRG Energy announced that it would buy CVSR from SunPower for "up to $450 million". In September 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) offered NRG Solar a $1.237 billion loan from the federal government to cover most of the construction cost. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1.6 billion.

Panoramic view of construction, October 2012

Panoramic view of construction, October 2012

Environment

The Carrizo Plain is home to 13 species listed as endangered either by the state or federal government, including the San Joaquin kit fox, giant kangaroo rat, and the California condor. SunPower has been working with the community to protect local wildlife habitat and migration patterns, and reduce the amount of traffic in the area during construction. The company recently announced a plan to create a reserve for giant kangaroo rat in order to address concerns about habitat destruction.

33% mandate

California utilities are mandated to get 33% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Electricity production

Generation (MWh)

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2012									4,014	4,190	5,504	8,019	21,727
2013	15,824	20,631	24,304	28,133	10,533	25,459	31,131	51,646	63,073	56,747	37,300	34,583	399,364
2014	35,851	36,710	54,654	66,210	78,967	84,024	77,526	74,398	60,789	50,939	36,701	27,634	684,403
2015	36,087	43,208	60,175	67,920	70,492	77,665	75,705	75,695	60,536	48,796	40,421	31,553	688,253
2016	27,064												27,064
Total													1,820,811

See also

• DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center
• Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station
• Panoche Valley Solar Farm

External links

• California Valley Solar Ranch (official website) Retrieved 2012-10-30.