Westlands Solar Park

The Westlands Solar Park is large-scale solar power project in Kings County south of Fresno, California. It intends to build many photovoltaic power plants with a capacity totaling upwards of 2,000 megawatts (MW),[1][2] larger than the world's largest photovoltaic power plants operating as of 2017. It will be constructed on brownfield land owned by the Westlands Water District that is unusable for agriculture due to excess salt pollution.[3][4]

Westlands Solar Park
CountryUnited States
LocationKings County, California
Coordinates36°10′N 119°56′W
StatusOperational
Commission dateJune 2016
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site area21,000 acres (8,500 ha)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity672 MW
External links
Websitewww.westlandssolarpark.com

Initial operation of a 2 MW demonstration project began in 2016, with the power sold to Anaheim Public Utilities.[5] Additional projects of 20 MW and 250 MW are in various stages of planning, as of 2017.[6] The developers planned to have 700 MW online by 2021,[7] with full build-out by 2025.[8] The real estate investment firm CIM Group joined the project in 2014.[9] In 2017, plans for the site were downsized from 2,400 MW to 2,000 MW and 24,000 acres (9,700 ha) to 21,000 acres (8,500 ha).[2] Construction began in 2020.[10]

The first 125 MW phase of the Aquamarine project opened in September 2021, with the second 125 MW opening by the end of the year.[11]

The 250 MW Westlands Solar Blue also has 225.0 MW of batteries. Chestnut has 135 MW of batteries.[12] The 19.9 MWAC (26 MWDC) Westlands Almond is part of a agrivoltaics scheme, using sheep for vegetation control.[13] Westlands Grape and Cherry are expected to be completed in December 2024.[12]

RE Slate, Mustang One and Two, RE Kent South, and American Kings Solar are solar plants which border Westlands Solar Park to the northeast with a combined total of 441 MW of capacity.

Phases
ProjectCapacityStatusCommission DatePower purchase agreementsReferences
Westside Solar WSP PV12 MWOperationalAugust 12, 2016Anaheim Public Utilities[14][5]
Westlands Almond20 MWOperationalOctober 2023CISO[12]
Aquamarine Westside250 MWOperationalSeptember 2021, February 2022SMUD, SVP, VCEA[15][11]
Chestnut Westside150 MWOperationalDecember 2023[16]
Westlands Solar Blue250 MWOperationalDecember 2023[16][12]
Westlands Grape246.4 MWIn Development[12]
Westlands Cherry249.7 MWIn Development[12]
Westlands Pomegranate250 MWProposed[17]

Electricity production

It produced 4,739 MWh in 2020.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Westlands Solar Park". Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  2. Lindt, John (September 14, 2017). "Westlands Solar Park files notice it will downsize plan". The Hanford Sentinel.
  3. Woody, Todd (August 10, 2010). "Recycling Land for Green Energy Ideas". The New York Times.
  4. "Ecologists, growers agree site would work for solar farm". The Associated Press. Portland Press Herald. March 22, 2010.
  5. "Westside Solar WSP PV1". Anaheim Public Utilities.
  6. Lindt, John (May 4, 2017). "Kings largest solar farm proposed". The Hanford Sentinel.
  7. Nidever, Seth (September 29, 2016). "Official: Giant solar proposal poised for growth". The Hanford Sentinel.
  8. "Renewable Energy". Westlands Water District.
  9. Nidever, Seth (July 9, 2014). "Kings County solar project gets financial backing". The Hanford Sentinel.
  10. "Ground broken on 2.7-GW solar complex in California". Renewablesnow.com.
  11. "CIM Group Announces Completion and Commercial Operation of First 125-Megawatt Phase of Aquamarine Solar Photovoltaic Project at Westlands Solar Park". www.businesswire.com. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  12. "Table 6.3. New Utility Scale Generating Units by Operating Company, Plant, and Month, 2016, Electric Power Monthly, U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 25, 2016". Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  13. Green Street Power Partners completes its largest solar project to date in California, Solar Power World, Kelsey Misbrener, October 9, 2023
  14. "Westside Solar Project: Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration". Kings County Community Development Agency. March 2015.
  15. "Westlands Solar Park flips switch on Aquamarine". The Business Journal. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  16. "Kings County solar projects advance | Sierra2theSea". sierra2thesea.net. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  17. Westlands Solar Park, California, Power Technology, May 20, 2020
  18. "Westside Solar Power PV1, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
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