California Valley Solar Ranch
{{Short description|Photovoltaic power plant in California, US}}
{{Infobox power station
| name = California Valley Solar Ranch
| image = Solar Panels at California Valley Solar Ranch 1 (8159038006).jpg
| image_caption = California Valley Solar Ranch solar panels
| coordinates = {{coord|35|19|48|N|119|54|36|W|region:US-NV_type:landmark_dim:1km|display=inline,title}}
| country = United States
| location = Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley, CA
| status = o
| construction_began = 2011
| commissioned = October 2013
| decommissioned =
| cost = $1.6 billion (2015) {{ cite news | url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Nuclear-power-s-last-stand-in-California-Will-6630933.php?t=d4053ba6dc | title=Nuclear power's last stand in California: Will Diablo Canyon die? | last=Baker | first=David | newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle | date=2015-11-14 | quote=The California Valley Solar Ranch lies on a stretch of highway so remote that, ... Those panels, 750,000 in all, track east to west during the day, their movement almost imperceptible. Together, they can generate up to 250 megawatts of electricity, about 11 percent of Diablo’s capacity. ... The $1.6 billion ranch represents one front in California’s climate fight. }}
(${{format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1.6e9|2015}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars{{Inflation-fn|US-GDP}})
| owner = NRG Solar
| operator = SunPower
| solar_type = Flat-panel PV
| ps_site_area = {{Convert|1966|acre|ha}}
| ps_electrical_capacity = 250 MWAC
| ps_electrical_cap_fac = 30.8% (average 2014-2017)
| ps_annual_generation = 675 GW·h, 340 MW·h/acre
| website =
}}
The California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MWAC) 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 {{convert|1966|acre}} of a {{convert|4365|acre|adj=on}} site of former grazing land.{{cite news
| url= http://www.mcclatchydc.com/economics/story/48267.html
| title= Calif. utility agrees to buy solar power from two proposed plants
| last= Sneed
| first= David
| date= 2008-08-15
| work= The San Luis Obispo Tribune
| access-date= 2008-08-15
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080815230138/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/economics/story/48267.html
| archive-date= 2008-08-15
| url-status= dead
}} 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.
Project overview
The project began construction in 2011, and began operation in 2012 with 22 MW completed. It was fully completed in October 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131031006341/en/NRG-Energy-NRG-Yield-SunPower-Commercial-Operations|title=NRG Energy, NRG Yield and SunPower Begin Commercial Operations at 250 MW California Valley Solar Ranch|date=October 31, 2013|work=BusinessWire|access-date=June 12, 2019}} At the time it was 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".{{cite web |url= http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nrg-energy-completes-acquisition-of-250-megawatt-california-valley-solar-ranch-from-sunpower-2011-09-30 |title=NRG Energy Completes Acquisition of 250-Megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch from SunPower |date=30 September 2011 |work=MarketWatch }}
The project is being constructed on {{convert|1966|acre}} of a {{convert|4365|acre|adj=on}} 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.{{cite news |url= http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-15-094.html |title= California Utility Mainstreams Solar Photovoltaic Power |date= August 15, 2008 |publisher= Environment News Service (ENS) |access-date= 2011-04-15 }} 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.{{Cite web
| url= http://www.pge.com/about/news/mediarelations/newsreleases/q3_2008/080814.shtml
| title= PG&E Signs Historic 800 MW Photovoltaic Solar Power Agreements With Optisolar and Sunpower
| date= 2008-08-14
| publisher= Pacific Gas and Electric
| access-date= 2008-08-15
| url-status= dead
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081004022056/http://www.pge.com/about/news/mediarelations/newsreleases/q3_2008/080814.shtml
| archive-date= 2008-10-04
}} 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".{{cite news
| url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/01/BUTD1GJGAI.DTL
| title= NRG Energy to invest $450 million in SunPower
| first= David R. | last= Baker | date= 2010-12-01 | work= San Francisco Chronicle
| access-date= 2011-04-15 }} 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.{{cite press release
|url= http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-finalizes-12-billion-loan-guarantee-support-california-solar-generation
|title= Energy Department Finalizes $1.2 Billion Loan Guarantee to Support California Solar Generation
|date= September 30, 2011 |publisher= Department of Energy (DOE)
|access-date= 13 November 2011 }} The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1.6 billion.{{cite news
|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/business/energy-environment/a-cornucopia-of-help-for-renewable-energy.html?pagewanted=all
|title= A Gold Rush of Subsidies in Clean Energy Search
|first= Eric |last= Lipton |author2=Clifford Krauss
|date= November 11, 2011 |work= The New York Times
|access-date= 13 November 2011 }}
{{Wide image|California Valley Solar Ranch, Carrizo Plain (8159063724).jpg|1800px|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.{{cite news
| url= http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/sunpower-california-valley/
| title= Huge Milestone for SunPower and Solar in 250MW California Valley Project
| first= Eric | last= Wesoff |date= August 25, 2010 |publisher= Greentech Media
| access-date= 2010-08-26 }} SunPower worked with the community to protect local wildlife habitat and migration patterns, and reduced the amount of traffic in the area during construction.[http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/05/sunpower-adds-40-mw-to-california-valley-solar-ranch SunPower Adds 40-MW to California Valley Solar Ranch] Renewable Energy World, 3 May 2010. In 2012, it was reported that SunPower and First Solar had designed a plan to create a 19,000 acre reserve for the giant kangaroo rat, San Joaquin kit fox and golden eagle in order to address concerns about habitat destruction.{{cite web | title = Pacific Southwest Region: California Solar Projects Will Provide Clean Energy and Restore Habitats for Wildlife | publisher = United States Fish and Wildlife Service | url = https://www.fws.gov/fieldnotes/print/print_report.cfm?arskey=33284 | access-date = 2019-08-02}}
Electricity production
| class=wikitable style="text-align:right; font-size:0.9em; width:1050px;"
|+Generation (MW·h) of California Valley Solar Ranch {{cite web |url=https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/57439/?pin=ELEC.PLANT.GEN.57439-SUN-ALL.M&linechart=ELEC.PLANT.GEN.57439-SUN-ALL.M |title=California Valley Solar Ranch, Monthly |work=Electricity Data Browser |publisher=Energy Information Administration |access-date=January 31, 2019}} | |||||||||||||
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | 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 || 48,485 || 58,571 || 63,317 || 71,275 || 80,545 || 82,609 || 74,310 || 63,259 || 44,720 || 37,633 || 28,008 ! 679,796 | |||||||||||||
| 2017
| 25,685 || 28,689 || 53,629 || 57,222 || 72,972 || 79,042 || 71,978 || 66,590 || 62,052 || 57,168 || 35,337 || 37,178 ! 647,541 | |||||||||||||
| colspan=13|Average Annual Production (2014-2017 | 675,000 |
Incidents
A fire removed 84% of the generating capacity from service in June 2019 when poles and cables were damaged by an "avian incident."{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-19/-avian-incident-knocks-out-84-of-massive-california-solar-farm|title='Avian Incident' Knocks Out 84% of Massive California Solar Farm|last=Dent|first=Millicent|date=2019-06-19|work=Bloomberg|access-date=2019-06-20|language=en|df=mdy-all}} Full service was expected to be restored within a month.{{cite news |title=‘Avian incident’ causes fire at California solar farm |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-fd16d25fdc39415587b427472db53cdf |agency=AP News |date=June 20, 2019}}
See also
{{stack|{{Portal|California|Renewable energy}}}}
{{Commons Category|California Valley Solar Ranch}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://us.sunpower.com/power-plant/success-stories/current-projects/ California Valley Solar Ranch] (official website) Retrieved 2012-10-30.
{{Generating stations in California|state=autocollapse}}
{{Solar power in the United States}}
Category:Solar power stations in California
Category:Photovoltaic power stations in the United States
Category:Companies based in San Luis Obispo County, California