The Antelope Valley Solar Ranch 1 (AVSR1) is a 230

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

(MW_AC) photovoltaic power plant near Lancaster within

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is a valley primarily located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated ...

, in the western

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

, Southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It uses cadmium telluride modules made by the US thin-film manufacturer

First Solar First Solar, Inc. is a publicly traded American manufacturer of solar panels, and provider of utility-scale PV power plants, supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses ...

. The project was developed by

and later bought by Exelon Corporation in 2011.GreenTechMedia.com, Herman K. Trabish
First Solar Cleared to Resume Construction in Antelope Valley
19 May 2013 The solar facility was fully commissioned in April 2014.

Overview

In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a $646 million loan guarantee to support the project's construction. This loan guarantee was part of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...

. The project is expected to create 350 construction jobs and 20 permanent jobs. On February 20, 2013, the first 100 MW_AC came online. The plant will use approximately 3.8 million solar panels, about 20% of which will be mounted on single-axis tracking racks. When fully operational, the plant is expected to generate enough energy for 75,000 homes, displacing 140,000 tons of CO₂. The power generated by AVSR1 is being purchased by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.

Electricity Production

References

External links

Northrop opposes solar energy project
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', by Marc Lifsher and Tiffany Hsu. {{Solar power in the United States Solar power in the Mojave Desert Solar Ranch Photovoltaic power stations in the United States Solar power stations in California Buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California

Overview

Electricity Production

See also

References

External links