California Flats Solar Project

California Flats Solar Project
Country	United States
Location	Monterey County, California
Coordinates	35°53′N 120°24′W
Status	complete
Construction began	2016
Commission date	April 2019
Owner(s)	Capital Dynamics
Solar farm
Type	Flat-panel PV
Site area	2,900 acres (1,174 ha)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	280 MWAC (when completed)

The California Flats Solar Project is a 280 megawatt (MW_AC) photovoltaic power station on Hearst Communications' Jack Ranch in the Cholame Hills area of southeastern Monterey County, California, near the San Luis Obispo, Kings, and Fresno County borders in Central California.^[1]

The project was financed by California Flats Solar LLC, a subsidiary of First Solar, and will use the company's thin-film technology.^[1] Construction began in 2016.^[2][3] The project was sold to Swiss asset-management outfit Capital Dynamics in August 2017.^[4][5] The first 130 MW of production went online in November 2017 and the projected was completed in spring 2019.^[6]

The plant has two power purchase agreements: Apple Inc. has a 25-year deal for 130 MW to power its California operations, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company is purchasing 150 MW.^[7] Apple installs a 60 MW storage facility at the site.^[8]

Electricity production

Total Facility Generation
(Annual Sum from Both Units Below)

Year	Total Annual MW·h
2017	20,432
2018	361,793
2019	467,106 (ytd)

Generation (MW·h) of CA Flats Solar 130 LLC ^[9]

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2017											1,547	18,885	20,432
2018	16,764	24,557	25,427	36,031	39,568	43,990	41,733	39,108	33,300	27,071	18,010	16,234	361,793
2019	15,463	17,739	26,084	26,815	33,002	42,126	43,995	40,823					246,047 (ytd)

Generation (MW·h) of CA Flats Solar 150 LLC ^[10]

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2019		15,563	26,815	26,084	28,349	38,055	41,822	44,371					221,059 (ytd)

See also

• Solar power in California

References

1. "First Solar: California Flats".
2. "Solar project developers hiring for 300 jobs". KSBW.com. December 5, 2015.
3. "California Flats Solar Project Datasheet". First Solar.
4. "First Solar Closes Sale of California Flats Project". SolarIndustryMag.com. August 22, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
5. "First Solar sells its 280mw project in southern Monterey County to Swiss-based company". Monterey Herald. 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
6. "Being Green | Hearst". www.hearst.com. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
7. Christina Farr; Nichola Groom (February 10, 2015). "Apple in big solar power deal, market cap closes over $700 billion". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
8. O'Kane, Sean (31 March 2021). "Apple will use Tesla's 'megapack' batteries at its California solar farm". The Verge.
9. "CA Flats Solar 130, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
10. "CA Flats Solar 150, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved October 31, 2019.

External links

• First Solar.com: official California Flats Solar Project website