Blythe Mesa Solar Power Project Explained

Blythe Mesa Solar Power Project
Coordinates:33.65°N -114.72°W
Country:United States
Location:Riverside County, California
Status:O
Construction Began:March 2015
Commissioned:April 2016 (Unit 1)
October 2016 (Unit 2)
Owner:NextEra Energy Resources
Solar Type:PV
Ps Site Area:2000acres
Ps Electrical Capacity:485 MWAC[1]
Ps Electrical Cap Fac:30.2% (average 2017)
Ps Annual Generation:622 GW·h, 310 MW·h/acre

The Blythe Mesa Solar Power Project, also known as the Blythe Solar Energy Center, is a 235 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power plant near the city of Blythe in Riverside County, California.[2] It occupies about 2,000 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the Mojave Desert. The construction uses CdTe thin film panels from the U.S. firm First Solar, and the majority of the output is being sold to Kaiser Permanente and Southern California Edison under 20-year power purchase agreements.[3] [4]

The project is located adjacent to the 250 MW McCoy Solar Energy Project, together forming a larger 485 MW complex.

Project Details

The current project configuration follows extensive efforts, which are detailed in the next section, to develop the site for other renewable energy facilities. These efforts were initiated in earnest around 2010, and concluded in June 2012 when NextEra Energy Resources acquired the resulting assets.[5]

In 2013, NextEra Energy submitted a proposal to modify the project size to three 125 MW sections, and one 110 MW section, for a total of 485 MW on 4,070 acres.[6] Approval by the state was granted in January 2014.[7] On August 24, 2015, the Interior Department publicly announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had also approved the modification.[8]

NextEra began land clearing for the first production unit at the start of 2015.[9] Kaiser Permanente announced in February 2015 that it would buy 110MW of electricity from the project.[10] Construction activities ramped up quickly soon after in March 2015.[11] In November 2015, the California PUC announced its approval of a power purchase agreement between NextEra and Southern California Edison for 125MW of electricity from the second unit.[12]

The first two 110MW and 125MW units were commissioned in April and October 2016, respectively. Construction of additional units is pending identification of more buyers. In September 2017 the Modesto Irrigation District agreed to purchase 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity over 20 years.[13]

Prior Development History

Blythe Solar was initially to be a 1000 MW, $6 billion parabolic trough solar thermal CSP plant, comprising four 242 MW units, located on of Bureau of Land Management land, about west of the city of Blythe.[14] [15] The project was originally developed by Solar Trust of America. Also Chevron Energy Solutions planned to participate in the project.[16] [17] [18] Solar Trust was formed as a majority-owned (70%) subsidiary of Solar Millennium. California will need from 15,000 to 20,000 MW of renewable energy to meet the 33% renewable electricity generation requirement by 2020.[19]

The California Energy Commission unanimously approved the project on September 15, 2010.[20] [21] [22] The Bureau of Land Management cleared the project to go ahead on October 25, 2010.[23]

In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy offered a $2.1 billion conditional loan guarantee to Solar Trust, to reduce the interest on the $2.8 billion cost of building the first half of the project.[24] The offer was rejected by Solar Trust.

In August 2011, Solar Trust of America announced that the first half of the project would use photovoltaic panels instead of solar thermal power.[25] [26] Another trust partner, Solarhybrid (a German solar energy developer), was in talks with First Solar for supply of photovoltaic modules.[27]

In 2012, Solar Millennium tried to sell its stake in Solar Trust to Solarhybrid;[28] however, this deal collapsed and Solar Trust filed for bankruptcy protection.[29] NextEra Energy Inc. was the top bidder for the project, according to an attorney representing creditors, acquiring the project in June 2012.

Electricity Production

Generation (MW·h) of Blythe Solar 110, LLC [30]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
20166,024 14,435 28,283 31,159 26,260 30,601 24,481 21,036 16,608 12,444211,331
201710,816 12,081 22,584 24,097 30,729 33,285 30,311 28,042 26,130 24,074 14,881 15,656272,685
Average Annual Production (2017) 273,000
Generation (MW·h) of Blythe Solar II, LLC [31]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
201610,775 17,966 17,318 16,040 22,189 17,222101,510
201713,846 15,465 28,909 30,846 39,337 42,609 38,801 35,897 33,450 30,817 19,049 20,042349,067
Average Annual Production (2017) 349,000

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Blythe Solar Power Project . California Energy Commission . 28 July 2022.
  2. http://www.nexteraenergyresources.com/pdf_redesign/Blythe.pdf NextEra's Blythe Solar Energy Center
  3. http://web.energyacuity.com/REProject.aspx?id=10080 Energy Acuity-Blythe Project Timeline
  4. Web site: California Energy Commission-Blythe Project Timeline . 2013-02-15 . 2019-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095644/http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/blythe_solar/ . dead .
  5. News: NextEra Wins Auction for World’s Biggest Solar Project . https://archive.today/20130118195458/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-22/nextera-wins-auction-for-world-s-biggest-solar-project . dead . 2013-01-18 . 2012-06-22 . 2012-06-24 .
  6. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/04/nextera-chops-blythe-solar-project-proposal-amid-switch-to-solar-pv NextEra Chops Blythe Solar Project Proposal Amid Switch to Solar PV
  7. http://www.reuters.com/article/utilities-nextera-blythe-idUSL2N0KP1R720140115# California approves $1.13 bln NextEra Blythe solar power plant
  8. http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2015/august/nr_8_24_15.html# Interior Department Approves 485-Megawatt Blythe Mesa Solar Project in California
  9. Chris Clarke, Vegetation Clearing Starts at Blythe Solar, KCET January 23, 2015
  10. http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2015/02/19/kaiser-buy-solar-power-riverside-county-project/23679159/ Kaiser to buy solar power from Riverside County project
  11. http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2015/02/19/kaiser-buy-solar-power-riverside-county-project/23679159/ Riverside County approves massive new solar plant
  12. http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2015/11/california-puc-reviews-southern-california-edison-deal-with-131-mw-solar-project.html California PUC Reviews Southern California Edison Deal with 131-MW Solar Project
  13. News: Roth. Sammy. Riverside County solar project scores $131-million deal with Central Valley farm district. 30 January 2018. Desert Sun. 29 September 2017.
  14. News: Scott . Streater . 1,000-Megawatt Plant in Calif. Marks New Milestone in Solar Expansion . . August 26, 2010.
  15. Bureau of Land Management. Map of Solar Energy Applications: Palm Springs – South Coast Field Office, Bureau of Land Management
  16. News: Turtles last hurdle for huge Blythe Solar project . Will . Kane . 2010-10-26 . . 2011-08-23.
  17. News: Groundbreaking for Blythe Solar Power Project . . June 18, 2011 . . 2011-08-23.
  18. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/09/top-6-utility-scale-solar-projects-on-fast-track-for-approval Top 6 Utility-scale Fast-tracked Solar Projects
  19. https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2011-apr-13-la-me-renewable-energy-20110413-story.html Gov. Brown signs law requiring 33% of energy be renewable by 2020
  20. News: World's largest solar plant wins key approval . McBride . Sarah . . 2010-09-15 . 2010-09-15.
  21. Web site: 1,000-megawatt Blythe solar power cleared by state regulators . Hsu . Tiffany . . 2010-09-15 . 2010-09-15.
  22. Web site: Energy Commission Licenses 1,000 MW Solar Power Plant . Louey . Sandy . . 2010-09-15 . 2010-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100919003556/http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2010_releases/2010-09-15_blythe_solar_nr.html . 2010-09-19 . dead .
  23. News: Tiffany . Hsu . Blythe solar project gets BLM approval in Riverside County . Los Angeles Times . October 25, 2010 . 2010-10-26.
  24. News: Solar Trust of Oakland wins federal loan support . David R. . Baker . April 19, 2011 . . 2011-04-19 .
  25. Web site: Dark Day for Solar Thermal: Solar Trust Switches 500MW Power Plant to PV . Michael . Kanellos . August 18, 2011 . . 20 August 2011 .
  26. News: Solar Developer Says No Thanks to $2.1 Billion Federal Loan Guarantee . Todd . Woody . August 18, 2011 . . 20 August 2011 .
  27. News: First Solar could supply two major U.S. projects . 2011-11-16 . Reuters . 2012-03-10 . 2011-12-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111220040053/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/16/firstsolar-idUSN1E7AF1IN20111116 . live .
  28. News: Solar Millennium sells Blythe, Palen projects to solarhybrid . K. . Kaufmann . 2012-02-07 . . 2012-03-10.
  29. News: Solar Trust of America files bankruptcy . Stempel . Jonathan . Bryan . Victoria . . 2012-04-02 . 2012-04-03 . 2015-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150927032517/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/02/us-solartrust-bankruptcy-idUSBRE8310ZV20120402 . live .
  30. Web site: Blythe Solar 110 LLC, Monthly . Electricity Data Browser . . February 1, 2019.
  31. Web site: Blythe Solar II LLC, Monthly . Electricity Data Browser . . February 1, 2019.

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