A new solar and battery storage project called Edwards & Sanborn has recently become operational in Kern County, California. Developed and owned by Terra-Gen, this project is the largest of its kind in the United States. It spans across 4,660 acres in the Mojave desert and consists of 875 megawatts (MW) of solar power and 3,320 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage.
Edwards & Sanborn is situated on both private land and land belonging to Edwards Air Force Base. The involvement of the US Air Force in this project marks its largest public-private partnership to date. The construction of the project was carried out by Mortensen and involved the installation of 1.9 million First Solar PV panels and 120,720 LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD long-duration energy storage batteries, which are connected by 400 miles of wire.
The overall capacity of the Edwards & Sanborn project is impressive. It generates 875 MWdc of solar energy and has 3,287 megawatt-hours of energy storage, with a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 MW. The power generated by this project is supplied to various entities including the City of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the Clean Power Alliance, and Starbucks, among others.
Brian Gorda, the vice president of engineering at Terra-Gen, expressed his satisfaction with the project’s successful operation, stating that it is a transformative undertaking for the industry and contributes to the resiliency of the grid.
To learn more about the Edwards & Sanborn project, you can visit the article on Electrek’s website.
