America's Largest Solar-Storage Project Now Operational

The Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage project, a groundbreaking renewable energy initiative, has been activated by Terra-Gen and Mortenson. This project is not only the largest of its kind in the United States but also a landmark in solar and storage capabilities. Mortenson played a crucial role, in handling the engineering, procurement, and construction aspects of the project.

Covering a vast area of 4,600 acres, this renewable energy giant boasts 1.9 million First Solar panels manufactured in the U.S. It has an impressive 875 MWdc solar capacity and nearly 3.3 GWh of energy storage, with a substantial 1.3 GW interconnection capacity.

The project is set to significantly impact California's power grid, providing enough electricity to power roughly 238,000 homes. This contribution is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 320,000 tons every year. 

The energy storage system utilizes batteries from LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD, integrating 98 miles of MV wire, over 361 miles of DC wiring, and 120,720 batteries. 

Located partially on Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, a prime location for major solar projects in the U.S., Edwards & Sanborn marks a historic public-private partnership in the history of the U.S. Department of Defense. Since its inception in 2020, the project has seen the contribution of over 1,000 craftworkers, achieving more than a million hours of injury-free labor.

Brigadier General William Kale highlighted the project's significance, calling it an engineering marvel and a testament to American innovation and skill.

This operational project now provides power to various entities, including the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, the Clean Power Alliance, and Starbucks Corporation.

The project's first phase, completed with $804 million in financing, added 346 MWac of solar modules and 1.5 GWh of battery storage. J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank were key players in the financial aspects of this phase.

In 2022, Terra-Gen secured nearly $1 billion in financing for the project's second phase, further bolstering the project's scale and impact. This round of financing was led by BNP Paribas, CoBank, U.S. Bank, ING, and Nomura.

In total, the financial backing for this ambitious project surpassed $1.7 billion, underlining its scale and significance in the renewable energy sector.