Mount Signal Solar, also known as Imperial Valley Solar Project, is a 794
MWp (614
MWAC)
photovoltaic power station
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building- ...
west of
Calexico,
California,
United States, in the southern
Imperial Valley, near the Mexican border. The facility is being developed and constructed by
8minutenergy Renewables in three phases, with two completed as of 2018. At full build-out, it will be one of the
world's largest PV solar farms with a capacity of about 800 MW
p (600 MW
AC). The project has been supported by several environmental groups, as the power station was built on low productivity farmland.
History
Originally the project was called SES Solar Two, was to be of
Stirling engine design, and was approved by
California Energy Commission on September 29, 2010.
AES Solar subsequently changed the name to Imperial Valley Solar, but later notified the commission on June 30, 2011 of its intention to no longer pursue the project.
AES Solar and 8minuteenergy Renewables subsequently announced on February 17, 2012 their plan to revive the project, changing the technology from
solar thermal to photovoltaic, and changing the project name to Mount Signal Solar.
The first phase started construction in 2012 and went online in 2014, providing 266 MW
p (206 MW
AC) to
San Diego Gas & Electric under a 25-year agreement.
More than 3 million
thin-film CdTe photovoltaic modules from
First Solar and 138 skids designed and manufactured by Elettronica Santerno are used. It was the world's largest solar project using
single-axis tracker
A solar tracker is a device that orients a payload toward the Sun. Payloads are usually solar panels, parabolic troughs, fresnel reflectors, lenses or the mirrors of a heliostat.
For flat-panel photovoltaic systems, trackers are used to mini ...
s to follow the path of the sun upon completion. The cost for this first unit was $365million.
Phases two and three consist of 200 MW
p and 328 MW
p of power, respectively, on contracted to
Southern California Edison.
Phase 2 is expected to be commissioned by 2020,
while Phase 3 went online in July 2018.
Phase 3 consists of 2.8 million Series 4 thin film panels from
First Solar.
[
]
Project units
The Mount Signal Solar Farm consists of three units, or construction phases:
*Mount Signal 1 – a 266 MWDC (206 MWAC) solar power station using photovoltaics. Construction on the site began in November 2012 and was completed in May 2014.[
*Mount Signal 2 – 200 MWDC (154 MWAC) solar power station also using photovoltaics on approximately which was commissioned in January 2020.]
First Solar
provided its Series 4 thin-film solar panels
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...
for the project, an
NEXTracker
supplied its NX Horizon smart solar tracker
A solar tracker is a device that orients a payload toward the Sun. Payloads are usually solar panels, parabolic troughs, fresnel reflectors, lenses or the mirrors of a heliostat.
For flat-panel photovoltaic systems, trackers are used to mi ...
systems.
CleanTechnica, Joshua S Hill, July 12, 2018
Electricity production
Mount Signal 1 nameplate capacities: 260 MWdc, 206 MWac
annual net output: 537 GW·h (avg 2015–2017)
capacity factor: 29.7%
See also
* Imperial Solar Energy Center West
* Imperial Solar Energy Center South
* Solar power in California
References
External links
8minutenergy – Solar Projects
{{Solar power in the United States
Solar power stations in California
Photovoltaic power stations in the United States
Calexico, California
Colorado Desert
El Centro metropolitan area
Imperial Valley
SunEdison
Infrastructure completed in 2014
2014 establishments in California