Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Storage Project (Credit: Mortenson)
The Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage site is now operational in Kern County, California. The project generates 875 MWdc of solar energy and has 3,287 MWh of energy storage. Its total interconnection capacity is 1,300 MW, earning Edwards & Sanborn the often-temporary title of “world’s largest” solar + storage site.
The site is a public-private partnership with the U.S. Air Force, located on a mixture of private land and land belonging to Edwards Air Force base – making it the largest public-private collaboration in the history of the U.S. Department of Defense. The site supplies power to the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the Clean Power Alliance, and Starbucks, among others.
The 4,660-acre project, developed by Terra-Gen and constructed by Mortenson, began construction in early 2021, with “substantial completion” reported last year. Construction efforts included installing over 98 miles of MV Wire, over 361 miles of DC Wire, 120,720 LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD batteries, and more than 1.9 million First Solar panels. [Editor’s note: I’m reading this like this meme.]
Last month, NASA’s Landsat 9 satellite captured an image of the project as seen from space.
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, a primary subordinate unit of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, worked with Edwards AFB to solicit lease proposals for the underutilized parcel of land on the northwest corner of the base using the Air Force Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) program. The Air Force and Terra-Gen signed a 35-year EUL agreement in Nov
Read More
