Intersect Power unveiled the commercial operation of its Oberon Solar + Storage project, generating 679 MW DC of reliable solar energy and featuring 1 GWh of co-located storage.
Located in Riverside County, Calif., the Oberon project produces enough energy to power over 207,000 homes a year and aligns with the priorities of the Inflation Reduction Act by using American-made equipment and paying prevailing wages. The project was built with First Solar modules from Ohio, NX Horizon smart solar trackers from Nextracker and American-made structural steel. The co-located 1 GWh of storage was built with batteries from Tesla’s battery facility in Lathrop, Calif.
“The Oberon project is much more than a new source of clean power for California. It is also a case study in how the clean energy industry can maximize project benefits by prioritizing domestic supply chains and union labor to ensure the rewards of the clean energy transition are felt by all Americans,” says Intersect Power CEO Sheldon Kimber.
“This project demonstrates that Intersect continues to pioneer procurement standards for our industry that live up to the vision of the IRA and deliver transformative clean energy projects that move the needle on the deep decarbonization of our economy.”
The Oberon project is the first to achieve operation through the streamlined approach under the Bureau of Land Management Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. The plan was the result of six years of collaboration between the federal government, conservation groups, Native American tribes, the renewable energy industry, utilities and members of the public. It designated over 10 million acres of conservation and recreation lands in the southern Calif. desert while centering renewable energy development in designated Development Focus Areas.
Intersect secured funding for the project’s construction as part of the broader portfolio financing announced last September, when the company closed on portfolio level term debt, tax equity, and construction financing commitments.
