CIM Group says it is advancing the development of Westlands Solar Park (WSP), a development that could produce more than 2,700 MW of renewable energy potential at full buildout.
The energy park encompasses more than 20,000 acres in California’s San Joaquin Valley in western Fresno and Kings counties and is designed to open in phases to meet the needs of public and private utilities and other energy consumers.
WSP has a completed and certified programmatic environmental impact report for the entire project, and WSP is one of the few renewable energy zones identified as a Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) through the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) process.
The first phase of CIM’s development at Westlands Solar Park includes Aquamarine, a 250 MW solar photovoltaic project, which has obtained all entitlement and conditional use approvals following a full environmental impact review. CIM signed a power purchase agreement with Valley Clean Energy Alliance, a locally governed electricity provider for the California cities of Davis and Woodland and unincorporated portions of Yolo County, for 50 MW of capacity, with initial delivery anticipated to occur in late 2021.
At Westlands Solar Park, CIM is repurposing selenium-contaminated and drainage-impaired farmland for the development of clean energy. WSP has garnered strong support from environmental communities, including the Sierra Club, NRDC, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Photo: Westlands Solar Park vicinity map
