EDF Renewable Energy has dedicated the 143 MW Catalina Solar project located in Kern County, Calif. EDF says the plant is its largest utility-scale solar photovoltaic project to date. Catalina's electricity is being provided to San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Located on 900 acres of private land southwest of the Tehachapi and Piute mountains, the thin-film PV project incorporates 82 MW of Solar Frontier and 61 MW of First Solar modules, with a total of over 1.1 million solar panels. The plant was designed and built by Bechtel. EDF Renewable Services is providing the long-term operations and maintenance services for the project.
‘Catalina Solar is an example of a renewable energy project that has overcome a number of regulatory and commercial challenges in its endeavor to reach the finish line,’ says Matt Burkhart, vice president of electric and fuel procurement at SDG&E. ‘SDG&E has been committed from the start to helping get viable, economic renewable resources developed, and today we again stand with our partner, EDF Renewable Energy, to celebrate another step toward reaching our aggressive goal.’
