Beacon Solar Project

{{Short description|Photovoltaic and battery storage power station in Kern County, California}}

{{Infobox power station

| name = Beacon Solar Project

| name_official =

| image =

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| coordinates = {{coord|35.257|-118.013|type:landmark_region:US-CA_scale:50000|display=inline,title}}

| country = United States

| location = Kern County, California

| status = O

| construction_began = 2014

| commissioned = 2017

| decommissioned =

| cost =

| owner = Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

| operator =

| solar_type = PV

| ps_site_area = {{convert|2500|acre}}

| ps_electrical_capacity = 250 MW_ac (291 MW_ac)

| ps_electrical_cap_fac =

| ps_label1 = Power purchase agreement

| ps_data1 = < $0.085 / kWh for 25 years {{ cite web | url=https://www.pv-tech.org/los_angeles_begins_construction_of_250mw_beacon_solar_power_project/ | title=Work set to begin on LA’s 250MW Beacon Solar project | last=Woods | first=Lucy | work=PVTech.org | date=2014-07-23 | quote=Power purchase agreements (PPA) for the 200MW are for 25 years, capped at US$85 per MWh. }}

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}}

The Beacon Solar Project is a photovoltaic power station in the northwestern Mojave Desert, near California City in eastern Kern County, California.{{cite web |url=http://www.co.kern.ca.us/planning/pdfs/eirs/beacon_solar/3%20Project%20Description.pdf |title=Draft Environmental Impact Report: Beacon Photovoltaic Project |date=July 2012 |publisher=Kern County Planning and Community Development Department}}{{cite press release |url=http://www.ladwpnews.com/ladwp-begins-construction-on-major-solar-project-that-will-deliver-300-mw-of-solar-power-to-los-angeles/ |title=LADWP Begins Construction on Major Solar Project that Will Deliver 300 MW of Solar Power to Los Angeles |date=July 25, 2014 |publisher=Los Angeles Department of Water and Power}} Split into five phases, the combined Beacon solar facilities generate 250 MW of renewable energy for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The five phases of the project, fully completed in December 2017, include a total of 903,434 individual solar photovoltaic modules, mounted onto Nextracker single-axis tracking systems.{{Cite web|url=http://digital.apogee-mg.com/article/Beacon+of+Light%3A+A+Solar+Plant+Shines+in+the+Mojave+Desert/3420917/599709/article.html|title=Beacon of Light: A Solar Plant Shines in the Mojave Desert|last=Tucker|first=Carol|website=digital.apogee-mg.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-23}}

The Beacon Solar Project was originally proposed by NextEra Energy using parabolic trough mirrors as solar energy collectors for a solar thermal electric energy generation project. The solar thermal electric powerplant technology configuration raised significant concerns during the CEQA environmental permitting process. {{cite web |url=https://efiling.energy.ca.gov/Lists/DocketLog.aspx?docketnumber=08-AFC-02 |title=State of California, California Energy Commission Docket Log 08-AFC-02}} Among the many environmental concerns, the natural gas supply, the wastewater management and disposal, and the water supply during construction and during operation of the plant were concerns specific to the solar thermal technology. The project was reconfigured, simplified and rescoped to a photovoltaic technology, eliminating the solar thermal technology concerns, though significant other environmental concerns remained.{{cite web |url=https://efiling.energy.ca.gov/GetDocument.aspx?tn=70794&DocumentContentId=48023 |first=Gregory |last=Schneck |publisher=Beacon LLC |title=Letter to California Energy Commission |date=13 May 2013}}

LADWP acquired the entire project, including the land and the environmental permitting for the site in 2012 as photovoltaic technology, which gained economic advantages over solar thermal and other technologies as a result of rapidly decreasing costs of solar photovoltaic modules.{{cite news |url=https://www.kcet.org/redefine/la-to-break-ground-on-big-desert-solar-project |title=L.A. to Break Ground on Big Desert Solar Project |first=Chris |last=Clarke |date=July 22, 2014 |work=KCET}} LADWP contracted Hecate Energy to develop three phases of the project, for 162 MW, and SunEdison, to develop the other two phases, for 88 MW.{{cite web |url=http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0735-S2_misc_05-04-2016.pdf |title=Amendment to the Beacon Sites 1, 3, and 4 PPAs |date=April 27, 2016 |publisher=Los Angeles Department of Water and Power}} SunEdison's stake in the project was later acquired by Capital Dynamics.{{cite web |url=http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0735-S3_misc_1_12-08-2016.pdf |title=Resolution No. 017-110 |date=November 15, 2016 |publisher=Los Angeles Department of Water and Power}} Hecate Energy's stake in the project was acquired by sPower{{cite web|title=sPower Gets $434M in Financing for Its Beacon Solar Projects|url=https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/spower-gets-434m-in-financing-for-its-beacon-solar-projects|publisher=sPower|access-date=10 May 2018}} (Sustainable Power), and was completed by sPower, who was later acquired by AES.

In October 2018, LADWP commissioned the Beacon Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), with 10 MWh/20 MW of storage to stabilize the energy sent to the grid by the solar panels.