Duke Energy’s 150 MW Solar Plant in California Begins Operation

Duke Energy Renewables has announced that its 150 MW North Rosamond solar project in Kern County, California, has begun commercial operation.

Duke Energy Renewables (DER), a subsidiary of Duke Energy, has announced that its 150-megawatt (MW) North Rosamond solar project in Kern County, California, has begun commercial operation. It is the largest solar project in the company’s fleet.

“North Rosamond is a great addition to our growing solar portfolio,” said Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables. “California is a leader in renewable energy, and we’re pleased to support the state’s efforts by continuing to provide cost-efficient renewable energy to meet residents’ needs.”

The 150-MW project, which contains over 477,000 solar panels, is located on approximately 1,188 acres outside of Rosamond, Calif., and will power approximately 71,000 homes. The North Rosamond solar project is Duke Energy Renewables’ sixth solar generation facility in Kern County.

The energy generated from the North Rosamond solar project is being sold to Southern California Edison under a 15-year agreement.

The facility’s design, procurement of PV modules, inverters, the balance of plant systems and construction of the project were performed by First Solar Electric California’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) subsidiary under a fixed-price EPC agreement for the project. The U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the tax credit division of U.S. Bank; M&T Bank’s Commercial Equipment Finance Group; and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America provided tax equity financing to the project.

In April, we reported that Duke Energy Renewable had acquired the 150 MW North Rosamond solar project in Kern County, California from Clearway Energy Group. The project became the company’s sixth solar generation facility in Kern County, California.

Recently, DER announced that has acquired the development assets associated with the 60 MW Palmer Solar project in El Paso County, Colorado, from juwi Americas. The project, which contains more than 200,000 solar panels, is being built on land south of Colorado Springs. With this addition, Duke Energy Renewables has two solar projects in Colorado totaling more than 70 MW.