Unveiled in February 2015, Desert Sunlight provides enough renewable energy to power more than 160,000 homes in Riverside County. In addition, the solar farm is displacing approximately 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year or the equivalent of taking about 60,000 cars off the road. The 550megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility is in the town of Desert Center near Joshua Tree National Park in Riverside County. Desert Sunlight is the largest solar PV project in the world and is located on approximately 3,800 acres of land managed by the Federal. Bureau of Land Management. In the next year this solar energy will be introduced into California's grid, reducing energy costs and increasing our use of renewable energy.
Project owners are NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, GE Energy Financial Services, and Sumitomo Corporation of America. First Solar is building and operating the facility. The project originally received funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Photos courtesy of Desert Sunlight
Benefits
The project is estimated to displace more than 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year – equivalent to taking 60,000 cars off the road annually.
The facility will provide enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 160,000 average California homes annually.
More than 630 jobs were created at the peak of construction.
Key Developers and Partners
- NextEra Energy Resources, LLC
- GE Energy Financial Services,
- Sumitomo Corporation of America
- First Solar
- Federal Bureau of Land Management'
- California Energy Commission
- County of Riverside
Type of Project
Solar photovoltaic
Status
Construction began in September 2011 with full operation expected by 2015.
SEE LOCATIONS ON THE TOUR
Alta Wind Farm Powers Homes
Wind
CleanWorld Sacramento BioDigester
Anaerobic digester
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
Solar photovoltaic
Electric Vehicles International
Electric vehicle manufacturing
Eos Energy Storage
Energy Storage
The Geysers
Geothermal
Helms Pumped Storage Facility
Hydroelectric storage
Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System
Solar thermal
New Solar Homes Partnership
Solar Incentives
Playa Vista Elementary School
Green school
Proterra Zero-Emission Buses
Public Electric Vehicle Charging at the South Coast Air Quality Management District
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure
Santa Rita Jail
Smart grid/solar/wind/fuel cell/advanced energy storage/solar thermal
Shiloh Wind Power Plant
Wind Power
Solar Star Projects
UC Davis West Village
Zero net energy mixed use, multi-unit housing communities