California Flats Solar Project
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationMonterey County, California
Coordinates35°53′N 120°24′W / 35.883°N 120.400°W / 35.883; -120.400
Statuscomplete
Construction began2016
Commission dateApril 2019
Owner(s)Capital Dynamics
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site area2,900 acres (1,174 ha)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity280 MWAC (when completed)
[edit on Wikidata]

The California Flats Solar Project is a 280 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station on Hearst Communications' Jack Ranch in the Cholame Hills area of southeastern Monterey County, California, near the San Luis Obispo, Kings, and Fresno County borders in Central California.[1]

The project was financed by California Flats Solar LLC, a subsidiary of First Solar, and will use the company's thin-film technology.[1] Construction began in 2016.[2][3] The project was sold to Swiss asset-management outfit Capital Dynamics in August 2017.[4][5] The first 130 MW of production went online in November 2017 and the projected was completed in spring 2019.[6]

The plant has two power purchase agreements: Apple Inc. has a 25-year deal for 130 MW to power its California operations, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company is purchasing 150 MW.[7] Apple installs a 60 MW storage facility at the site.[8]

Electricity production

Total Facility Generation
(Annual Sum from Both Units Below)
Year Total Annual MW·h
2017 20,432
2018 361,793
2019 467,106 (ytd)
Generation (MW·h) of CA Flats Solar 130 LLC [9]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2017 1,547 18,885 20,432
2018 16,764 24,557 25,427 36,031 39,568 43,990 41,733 39,108 33,300 27,071 18,010 16,234 361,793
2019 15,463 17,739 26,084 26,815 33,002 42,126 43,995 40,823 246,047 (ytd)
Generation (MW·h) of CA Flats Solar 150 LLC [10]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2019 15,563 26,815 26,084 28,349 38,055 41,822 44,371 221,059 (ytd)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "First Solar: California Flats".
  2. ^ "Solar project developers hiring for 300 jobs". KSBW.com. December 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "California Flats Solar Project Datasheet". First Solar.
  4. ^ "First Solar Closes Sale of California Flats Project". SolarIndustryMag.com. August 22, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  5. ^ "First Solar sells its 280mw project in southern Monterey County to Swiss-based company". Monterey Herald. 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  6. ^ "Being Green | Hearst". www.hearst.com. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  7. ^ Christina Farr; Nichola Groom (February 10, 2015). "Apple in big solar power deal, market cap closes over $700 billion". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  8. ^ O'Kane, Sean (31 March 2021). "Apple will use Tesla's 'megapack' batteries at its California solar farm". The Verge.
  9. ^ "CA Flats Solar 130, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  10. ^ "CA Flats Solar 150, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved October 31, 2019.

External links


Power stations in California
Solar power in the United States
Categories