Terra-Gen, Mortenson Activate Largest Solar Plus Energy Storage Project In US

Renewable power producer Terra-Gen and EPC firm Mortenson have announced the substantial completion and start of  the Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage project, the largest solar + storage project in the United States. Mortenson was the full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on both the solar and energy storage scopes.

This project stretches over 4,600 acres and includes more than 1.9 million First Solar modules. In total, the project generates 875 MWDC of solar energy and has 3,287 MWh of energy storage with a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 MW.

The project supplies power to the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the Clean Power Alliance and Starbucks, among others. A portion of the project is situated on the Edwards Air Force Base and was the largest public-private collaboration in U.S. Department of Defense history. The project uses LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD batteries.

Announced back in December, 2020, the project has seen a two year delay linked to Covid disruptions and other factors. The opening comes even as the US has emerged as one of the key storage markets worldwide, spurred on by lower storage costs and a higher adoption of renewables into the grid.

The Edwards project is easily the largest non-hydro storage project in the US, and will be the precursor to at least 6 more such large projects expected to come online over the next two years