Beacon Solar Project
The Beacon Solar Project is a photovoltaic power station in the northwestern Mojave Desert, near California City in eastern Kern County, California. Split into five phases, the Beacon solar facilities combined generate 250 MW of renewable energy for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The five projects, completed in December 2017 total 903,434 panels.
The Beacon Solar Project was originally proposed by NextEra Energy using parabolic trough mirrors. LADWP acquired the entitled project site in 2012 and changed it to cheaper photovoltaic technology. LADWP contracted Hecate Energy to develop three phases of 162 MW and SunEdison to develop 88 MW in two phases. SunEdison's stake in the project was later acquired by Capital Dynamics. Hecate Energy's stake in the project was acquired by sPower, and was completed by sPower, who was later acquired by AES.
In October 2018, LADWP commissioned the Beacon Battery Energy Storage System, with 10 MWh/20 MW of storage to stabilize the energy sent to the grid by the solar panels.Projects
The Beacon Solar Project consists of 5 solar power station projects:
- Beacon 1 — a 56 MWac solar power station using photovoltaics, which began commercial operations in early 2017.
- Beacon 2 — a proposed 48 MWac solar power station using photovoltaics, commissioned in December 2017.
- Beacon 3 — a 56 MWac solar power station using photovoltaics, which began commercial operations in early 2017.
- Beacon 4 — a 50 MWac solar power station using photovoltaics, which began commercial operations in early 2017.
- Beacon 5 — a proposed 40 MWac solar power station using photovoltaics, commissioned in December 2017.
Production
