Major clean power plant serving L.A. goes fully online in Kern County

Mojave, California – One of the largest solar and battery power plants in the United States is now supplying Los Angeles and Glendale from Kern County.

Local leaders and clean energy experts were gathered on Tuesday under a desert sun to mark the start of full production from the 1.36 million solar panel and 172 lithium iron phosphate batteries that make up the Eland Sun plus storage electric project. 13 Dodger Stadium, including the parking lot and will produce 7% of electricity for the entire Los Angeles city, most records at a low price.

“This is the biggest project for Ladwp when it comes to the sun and battery, and this is a great success for us because we need about 10 more to hit our goals – and said. The city has committed 100% clean energy until 2035.

As Eland’s power is now flowing through the grille, about two -thirds of the road there: the project pushed the total supply of the city to 64% clean energy. Other power sources in LA portfolio include hydrogen, natural gas, biomass, geothermal, nuclear and coal, which the city aims to be removed from service by the end of this year.

The Eland project of 2 billion dollars was developed by Arizona -based Arizon Energy and will also provide solar energy to Glendale Water and Power.

Although Eland’s expanding solar panels are eye -catching, the real foundation of the project is humble batteries that resemble the rows of large white shipping containers.

Los Angeles Water and Power’s largest solar and battery storage storage units in the battery storage facility, on Monday, November 25, 2024 in Kern County’s Mojave Desert Eland Solar and California City, Ca.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Finding the batteries with solar or wind allows them to charge clean energy, then feed back to people’s homes after the sun sets or the wind stops. At the end of 2023, there were close to 469 “hybrid” clean power plants in the USA. A recent report From Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

In California, almost every new solar project waiting to be connected to the electricity network contained batteries.

All scenarios call for storage use to effectively handle climate change.

The Eland project is also online, because the Trump administration slows down the transition to clean energy with dozens of measures that support electricity made of coal and natural gas. The President’s so -called Big Beautiful bill ends federal tax loans for wind and solar energy in the next two years.

However, it is likely to continue the transition in California and in some other states where climate change is mandatory.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Times told Times, “I spent 12 years in DC and to be a home where there is no discussion – there is no discussion about climate targets and sun and renewable energy sources – this is an exciting day,” he said.

“It represents an important milestone for achieving our climate targets and also strengthens our dimension in progressing to renewable energy opening and progressing to clean energy targets, Ela said Eland.

Kevin Smith, Avon’s CEO, said Solar, which is matched with battery storage, is currently the fastest energy source to be launched with or without tax loans ”and to the market. It took about two years to be completed in the first rowing of the Eland project, compared to nuclear or natural gas projects that could last for a few years longer.

Smith also specified a sudden increase in electricity for data centers. “If we do not meet this demand, this means that the future will be won by the Chinese, because they build more solar energy than we have built in a month in a month.”

Two -thirds of all renewable energy established globally in 2024 were in China, which strongly encourages the structure.

In the USA, such projects should either start construction until next July, or to be put into service to obtain a federal tax loan until the end of 2027.

However, according to the company officials, most of Eland’s success will be connected to the DWP, which is a 25 -year -old contract for $ 25 years, for its power.

Eland points to DWP’s first service scale integrated solar and battery project. The first stage of the two facilities-past years will produce-758 Megawatt solar energy and will store 1,200 megawatt hourly energy, all of which can be sent during the most intense demand in the evening or night.

DWP officials said that Eland is the lowest cost project in its portfolios and that the production and storage cost is 4 cents per kilowatt hour. Company officials are expected to save costs for neutral and even price taxpayers.

On Monday, November 25, the workers set up solar panels for Los Angeles Water and Power’s largest solar and battery storage facility, Eland Sun and Surş and storage center in the Kern County Mojave Desert near California City, Ca near CA.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The reason for this is that the DWP can contract for power long before the DWP’s Covid-19 pandemic and then the new market uncertainties related to tariffs and tariffs.

Experts say that such projects cannot come soon. Last year, Earth was the hottest, primarily there were increasing global temperatures caused by fossil fuel emissions. According to the company officials, only the Eland project is expected to avoid emissions equivalent to approximately 120,000 cars.

Jonathan Parfrey, General Manager of Climate Solution, which is not intended for the purpose of profit, did it with moral reasons when the city of Los Angeles first followed twenty years ago, twenty years ago. “Travel to today – and solar energy is now the right thing to do economic, coal, natural gas and nuclear energy at a lower cost of electricity.”

About 75% of the energy of the state According to California independent system operator, it came from renewable energies on Tuesday.

Eland and DWP are on their way to meet the 100% clean energy target until 2035, but Quiñones said the last 3% to 4% will be the most difficult.

But a project like Elend – the largest DWP so far – “shows our loyalty to our renewable and clean energy transition, Qu’nones said. “We are not withdrawn from this.”