Large Solar Energy Projects

Large Solar Energy Projects

California's electric utility companies are required to using renewable energy to produce 20 percent of their power by 2010 and 33 percent by 2020. A main source of renewable power will be solar energy.

 

 

Many large solar energy projects are being proposed in California's desert area on federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. BLM has received right-of-way requests encompassing more than 300,000 acres for the development of approximately 34 large solar thermal power plants totaling approximately 24,000 megawatts. This number of projects have not yet reached the stage of an Application for Certification (AFC) with the California Energy Commission.

Solar thermal projects (above 50 MW) will require approvals from both the BLM and the Energy Commission prior to construction. Therefore, to provide joint National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review and a more efficient process, the BLM and Energy Commission have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (PDF file, 14 pages, 140 kb). This MOU also has attachments listing the solar projects the BLM is aware of (as of July 2007) and the time line for the joint review process.

This Web section will provide information about projects under the Energy Commission's jurisdiction (thermal power plant projects 50 MW or larger) or information about smaller-sized plants under other agencies' jurisdiction. Wind farms are not thermal power plants and are not listed here. This page also will not list the many small photovoltaic (PV) projects under the California Solar Initiative or the New Solar Homes Partnership.

 

Solar Thermal Projects Under Review or Announced*
As of July 30, 2009

Solar Projects Currently Under Review by Energy Commission and BLM

Project Name and Applicant	Location	Size & Technology (megawatts)	Lead Agency	Status
Victorville 2 Hybrid Power Project City of Victorville	Victorville	563 MW 513 MW natural gas 50 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	APPROVED AFC filed 2/28/07 Approved 7/16/08
Ivanpah Solar Solar Partners/Brightsource	San Bernardino County	400 MW solar tower	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC filed 8/31/07
Carrizo Energy Solar Farm Carrizo Energy LLC	San Luis Obispo County	177 MW Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC filed 10/25/07
Beacon Solar Energy Project Beacon Solar LLC	Kern County	250 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC filed 3/14/08
SES Solar Two Project Stirling Energy Systems	Imperial County	750 MW Stirling engine	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC filed 6/30/08
City of Palmdale Hybrid Gas-Solar City of Palmdale	Palmdale	617 MW 555 MW natural gas 62 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC Filed 8/4/08
San Joaquin Solar 1 & 2 San Joaquin Solar LLC	Fresno County	106.8 MW solar trough / biomass hybrid	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC Filed 11/26/2008
SES Solar one Project Stirling Energy Systems	San Bernardino County	850 MW Stirling engine	Energy Commission	Under Review AFC Filed 12/2/2008
Projects Under Review MW		4,288.8 MW

Projects "Announced" Or Have Signed Power Purchase Agreements*

Project Name and Applicant	Location	Size & Technology (megawatts)	Lead Agency	Status
Alpine Suntower NRG and eSolar	Lancaster Los Angeles County	92 MW solar tower	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
BrightSource PPA5 BrightSource	Mojave	200 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
BrightSource PPA6 BrightSource	Mojave	200 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
BrightSource PPA7 BrightSource	Mojave	200 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
eSolar 1 eSolar	Los Angeles County	84 MW solar tower	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
eSolar 2 eSolar	Los Angeles County	66 MW solar tower	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Fort Irwin Solar Power Project U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Irwin Energy Security Partners LLC	San Bernardino County	1,000 MW solar thermal and PV	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Gaskell SunTower eSolar	Rosamond Kern County	105 to 245 MW solar tower	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Mojave Solar Park-1 Solel	Needles, Stedman or Arrowhead Junction San Bernardino County	553.5 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Mojave/Harper Lake Solar Abengoa Solar Inc, LADWP	San Bernardino County	250 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Project Genesis NextEra Energy	Riverside County	250 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Millenium Ridgecrest Solar Millenium	Kern County	242 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Millenium Palen Solar Millenium	Kern County	484 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Millenium Blythe Solar Millenium	Kern County	968 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Partners XVI Solar Partners / BrightSource	Ludlow and Siberia San Bernardino County	200-220 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Partners XVII Solar Partners / BrightSource	Ludlow and Siberia San Bernardino County	200-220 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Partners XVIII Solar Partners / BrightSource	Ludlow and Siberia San Bernardino County	200-220 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Partners XIX Solar Partners / BrightSource	Ludlow and Siberia San Bernardino County	200-220 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Partners XX Solar Partners / BrightSource	Ludlow and Siberia San Bernardino County	200-220 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
Solar Partners XXI Solar Partners / BrightSource	Ludlow and Siberia San Bernardino County	200-220 MW solar trough	Energy Commission	AFC Not Yet Filed
TOTAL Announced MW		5,894.5 to 6,154.5 MW
GRAND TOTAL MW (Under Review and Announced)		10,183.3 to 10,443.3 MW
* "Announced" refers to projects that have been publicly announced in the news media, have power purchase agreements pending with or approved by the CPUC, or ones that have made official declarations of intent. List of Renewable Portfolio System Power Purchase Agreements available at: www.energy.ca.gov/portfolio/contracts_database.html

You can use the BLM's Geocommunicator website at www.geocommunicator.gov/NILS-PARCEL2/map.jsp?MAP=ENERGY to obtain information about the project developer and generate topo and aerial maps of the particular projects.

Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Projects (5 MW and Larger) Announced*
As of July 21, 2009

Project Name and Applicant	Location	Size & PV Technology (megawatts)	Lead Agency	Electricity Purchaser	Estimated on-Line Date
Antelope Valley Solar Ranch Nextlight Renewable Power LLC	Antelope Valley Kern County	230 MW (? technology)	Kern County	PG&E	2018
CalRenew CalRenew-1 LLC / Cleantech America	Mendota Fresno County	5 MW (? technology)	Fresno County	PG&E	2013
First Solar Energy 1 First Solar	Blythe Kern County	7.5 MW (thin-film PV)	Kern County	PG&E	2013
High Plains Ranch II LLC SunPower Inc	Carrisa Plains San Luis Obispo County	210 MW (monocrystalline silicon PV with single axis tracking)	San Luis Obispo County	PG&E	2011 - 2012 (phase-in)
KRCD Solar Farm Kings River Conservation District / Cleantech America	Fresno County	80 MW (? technology)	Fresno County	San Joaquin Valley Power Authority	2011 - 2013 (phase-in)
Lucerne Valley Solar Project Chevron Energy Solutions	8 miles east of Lucerne Valley San Bernardino County	45 MW (thin-film PV)	U.S. Bureau of Land Management	?	2011 - 2012
Solaren Solaren	Fresno County	200 MW (space-based solar collector)	Fresno County	PG&E	2020
Topaz Solar Farm OptiSolar	Carrisa Plains San Luis Obispo County	550 MW (thin-film PV)	San Luis Obispo County	PG&E	2011 - 2013 (phase-in)
TOTAL MW		1,327.5 MW
* "Announced" refers to projects that have been publicly announced in the news media, have power purchased agreements approved by the CPUC, or ones that have made official declarations of intent. Note: These projects are under the local governmental jurisdiction and approval for conditional use permits or other needed licenses.

Background

California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) was established by Senate Bill 1078 (Sher, Chapter 516, Statutes of 2002). It required the state's retail sellers of electricity - investor-owned utilities (IOUs), electric service providers (ESPs), and community choice aggregators (CCAs) - to procure 20 percent of their retail electricity sales with eligible sources of renewable energy by 2017. California's energy agencies subsequently committed to achieving the 20 percent target by 2010; seven years earlier than the target.

This 20 percent target was codified by the enactment of Senate Bill 107 (Simitian and Perata, Chapter 464, Statutes of 2006), which took effect on January 1, 2007. A higher, more ambitious goal was initially set, by the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission in the Energy Action Plan, at 33 percent renewables by 2017, but Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order of November 2008 set the goal at 33 percent by 2020.

In creating the RPS, the Legislature underscored the importance of increasing the diversity, reliability, public health, and environmental benefits of the energy mix.

To reach the 33 percent goal, each retail seller of electricity must increase the percentage of its electrical load served by renewable energy by at least 1.0 percent annually, with certain cost constraints. Under the law, retail sellers of electricity include the state's IOUs, ESPs, and CCAs, but does not include local publicly owned electric utilities.

For more about the Renewables Portfolio Standard, please go to the Energy Commission's website page at: www.energy.ca.gov/portfolio/.

Earlier Large, Solar Projects Producing Power

Prior to the Renewable Portfolio Standards in 2002, 13 solar thermal power projects were planned in California, with 11 of those filing applications with the Energy Commission. Nine projects (Solar Energy Generating Station - SEGS I to IX), totaling 354 MW, were built. SEGS III to IX are owned by NextEra™ Energy Resources (formerly FPL Energy), and SEGS I and II are owned by Cogentrix Solar Services - a wholly owned subsidiry of Cogentrix Energy LLC (Charlotte, NC), which purchased former owner Sunray Energy Inc. in early 2009.

One large photovoltaic (PV) array was built by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District near its Rancho Seco Nuclear Plant. It went on line in August 1984 and has an installed capacity of 3.19 MW.

Project Name	Capacity In MW	CEC Docket Number	Location	County	Date Certified	On-Line Date
SOLAR 100	110.0	81-AFC-4		San Bernardino	12/29/82	Never built - land use issues
Luz SEGS I Solar/Nat Gas	13.8	Local Jurisdiction Under 50 MW	Daggett	San Bernardino		12/20/84
Luz SEGS II Solar/Nat Gas	30	Local Jurisdiction Under 50 MW	Daggett	San Bernardino		12/31/85
Luz SEGS III-VII Solar/Nat Gas)	150.0 5 X 30 MW	87-AFC-1	Kramer Junction	San Bernardino	5/25/88	2/1/89
Luz SEGS VIII Solar/Nat Gas	80.0	88-AFC-1	Harper Dry Lake	San Bernardino	3/29/89	12/1/89
Luz SEGS IX Solar/Nat Gas	80.0	89-AFC-1	Harper Dry Lake	San Bernardino	2/14/90	10/1/90
Luz SEGS X Solar/Nat Gas	80.0	89-AFC-1	Harper Dry Lake	San Bernardino	Suspended 5/13/1992	Construction halted - company bankruptcy
Luz SEGS XI Solar/Nat Gas	80.0	89-AFC-2	Harper Dry Lake	San Bernardino	Suspended 5/13/1992	Never built - company bankruptcy
Luz SEGS XII Solar/Nat Gas	80.0	91-AFC-1	Harper Dry Lake	San Bernardino	Suspended 5/13/1992	Never built - company bankruptcy
Solar one and Solar Two	10.0	n/a	Daggett	San Bernardino	n/a	The Solar one central tower research facility was completed in 1981 and was operational from 1982 to 1986. Solar Two added more mirrors and was operational from 1995 to 1999.

Solar Two - Aerial view of the Solar one & Two facility near Daggett, California. The 10 megawatt solar tower research facility was closed in 1999. Picture courtesy of Google Earth.