Arizona’s massive new solar project will supply 90% of its output to Tesla

ContourGlobal has announced a 509-megawatt solar power plant with a massive battery storage system as part of a 2,000-acre project. Under a long-term agreement, Tesla will receive 90 percent of the facility’s expected electricity output.

Project Sterling was officially launched with a groundbreaking ceremony on October 6. The facility, however, will begin operations in 2028. Once operational, it will become ContourGlobal’s largest renewable energy asset worldwide.

According to Electrek, Sterling is expected to generate more than 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, enough to supply a year’s worth of electricity to a city of 100,000 to 120,000 residents.

Located in Mohave County, 20 miles north of Lake Havasu City, the facility spans more than 2,000 acres and will incorporate over 760,000 solar modules alongside more than 300 battery storage containers.

The storage system will use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries with liquid cooling and integrated fire-protection technology. The batteries can deliver full power for about four hours. The combined solar and storage system can supply clean electricity for up to 16 hours each day.

More than 760,000 solar panels and 300 battery containers

Arizona has become a pioneer in solar development with 13,198 MWdc installed across the state. Currently, the state generates about 18.23 percent of its electricity from solar, powering nearly two million homes. “The partnership reinforces Arizona’s role in regional grid reliability,” stated PV Magazine in a report.

Project Sterling is expected to add 509 megawatts (MW) of direct-current (DC) solar capacity to Arizona, corresponding to 450 MW of alternating-current (AC) capacity. The associated battery energy storage system is designed to deliver 360 MW of power and store approximately 1.4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity.

The project expands ContourGlobal’s U.S. portfolio to 2.4 GW of thermal, renewable, and storage capacity operating or under construction, as per PV Magazine USA.

The facility will connect to the Western Area Power Administration’s transmission network and has secured transmission rights into the California Independent System Operator’s electricity market, Electrek reports.

Moreover, Project Sterling will generate an average of approximately 400 local construction jobs. Construction includes a new 5.2-mile access road, called Polaris Road, connecting the site to a historic stretch of Route 66 between Topock and Kingman. The privately financed project has also secured an equity bridge loan from a syndicate of international banks to finance construction.

Tesla secures long-term clean electricity supply

ContourGlobal will supply Tesla with more than 1 terawatt-hour (TWh) of clean electricity a year under a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (PPA), according to Electrek.

It’s one of the largest corporate solar-plus-storage PPAs signed for a single hybrid renewable energy plant in the United States. The agreement covers about 90 percent of the facility’s expected output.

“Our teams engineered the project around the specific needs of our customer, enabling it to deliver reliable clean power for up to 16 hours a day,” said Antonio Cammisecra, president and CEO of ContourGlobal, in PV Magazine USA.

Source: https://interestingengineering.com/energy/arizonas-massive-new-solar-project-will-supply-90-of-its-output-to-tesla