Solar Star is a 579-megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station near Rosamond, California, United States, that is operated and maintained by SunPower Services. When completed in June 2015, it was the world's largest solar farm in terms of installed capacity, using 1.7 million solar panels, made by SunPower and spread over 13 square kilometers (3,200 acres).[1][2][3]
| Solar Star | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Rosamond, California |
| Coordinates | 34°49′50″N 118°23′53″W / 34.83056°N 118.39806°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 2013 |
| Commission date | June 19, 2015 |
| Owner | BHE Renewables |
| Operator | SunPower |
| Solar farm | |
| Type | Flat-panel PV |
| Site area | 3,200 acres (1,300 ha) |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 747.3 MWp,[1] 579 MWAC[2] |
| Capacity factor | 32.8% (average 2017-2019) |
| Annual net output | 1,663 GW·h, 520 MW·h/acre (average 2017-2019) |
| External links | |
| Website | us.sunpower.com |
Comparison to similar plants
editCompared to other photovoltaic plants of similar size, Solar Star uses a smaller number (1.7 million) of large form-factor, high-wattage, high-efficiency, higher cost crystalline silicon modules, mounted on single axis trackers. In contrast, the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and the Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW each) use a larger number (roughly 9 million) of smaller form-factor, lower wattage, lower efficiency, lower cost thin-film CdTe photovoltaic modules, mounted on fixed-tilt arrays and spread over a larger land area. Both approaches appear commercially viable.[4]
There are a number of other solar photovoltaic plants nearby:
- Antelope Valley Solar Ranch (266 MW from 3.8 million thin film panels)
34°46′N 118°25′W / 34.767°N 118.417°W - Alpine Solar (66 MW AC, thin film panels)[5][6]
34°47′37″N 118°30′44″W / 34.79361°N 118.51222°W - Catalina Solar Project (60 MW, thin film panels)
34°56′N 118°20′W / 34.933°N 118.333°W
Electricity production
editSolar Star 1's nameplate capacities are 398 MWdc and 314 MWac.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 14,332 | 28,753 | 36,448 | 38,215 | 35,596 | 36,759 | 37,188 | 42,315 | 31,070 | 24,669 | 325,345 | ||
| 2015 | 34,125 | 69,839 | 84,200 | 97,302 | 93,801 | 99,408 | 97,315 | 81,857 | 63,305 | 55,844 | 44,893 | 821,889 | |
| 2016 | 39,867 | 39,296 | 32,636 | 84,802 | 91,786 | 51,523 | 52,262 | 99,009 | 85,110 | 67,456 | 50,141 | 36,270 | 679,158 |
| 2017 | 41,432 | 48,667 | 79,574 | 86,741 | 99,308 | 105,230 | 102,026 | 91,375 | 82,008 | 72,837 | 50,163 | 46,171 | 905,532 |
| 2018 | 44,314 | 60,323 | 67,871 | 88,462 | 102,351 | 105,674 | 97,203 | 96,445 | 84,320 | 66,841 | 49,275 | 43,626 | 906,705 |
| 2019 | 40,956 | 50,112 | 70,909 | 78,741 | 82,254 | 100,807 | 100,508 | 100,127 | 82,965 | 74,358 | 49,294 | 31,357 | 862,388 |
| 2020 | 50,547 | 61,602 | 56,733 | 60,814 | 229,696 | ||||||||
| Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) | 891,541 | ||||||||||||
Solar Star 2's nameplate capacities are 350 MWdc and 266 MWac.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 14,321 | 19,610 | 30,291 | 42,338 | 44,483 | 52,767 | 52,276 | 50,675 | 40,447 | 32,848 | 380,056 | ||
| 2015 | 40,769 | 50,582 | 68,531 | 77,036 | 87,210 | 83,183 | 87,909 | 85,625 | 72,530 | 55,497 | 49,895 | 39,635 | 798,402 |
| 2016 | 34,065 | 56,385 | 53,776 | 74,427 | 89,089 | 65,376 | 95,256 | 86,438 | 73,226 | 58,390 | 45,752 | 35,668 | 767,848 |
| 2017 | 36,824 | 42,569 | 69,736 | 76,824 | 71,491 | 90,485 | 84,702 | 78,023 | 71,119 | 62,199 | 43,428 | 40,789 | 768,189 |
| 2018 | 38,743 | 53,333 | 60,030 | 78,275 | 90,722 | 90,729 | 81,903 | 81,814 | 74,103 | 59,716 | 42,773 | 37,987 | 790,128 |
| 2019 | 35,800 | 43,867 | 62,156 | 69,316 | 72,178 | 88,927 | 90,397 | 87,610 | 72,794 | 65,450 | 43,786 | 24,485 | 756,766 |
| 2020 | 44,125 | 52,918 | 50,630 | 54,672 | 202,345 | ||||||||
| Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) | 771,694 | ||||||||||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "Solar Star I and II". Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
- ^ a b "The Solar Star Projects" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-21.
- ^ "Solar Star, Largest PV Power Plant in the World, Now Operational". GreenTechMedia.com. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- ^ Wesoff, Eric (January 14, 2015). "Desert Sunlight, Another 550MW Solar Farm From First Solar, Now Fully Operational". Greentech Media. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ Kessler, Richard (5 February 2013). "NRG's Alpine Solar project begins operation". ReCharge News. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ Gunther, Edgar A. (January 9, 2013). "NRG Alpine Solar Project Nears Completion". GUNTHER Portfolio. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "Solar Star 1, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ^ "Solar Star 2, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.