EDF Renewables North America announced today the signing of two 20-year PPA for the 128MWac with 40MW/160MWh battery storage Big Beau Solar+Storage Project in Kern County, California. Silicon Valley Clean Energy will purchase 55-percent of the output, and Monterey Bay Community Power will purchase 45-percent. The Project is slated to achieve commercial operation by the end of 2021.
"We are excited to bring online a new California solar-plus-storage project with SVCE and EDF Renewables," said Tom Habashi, CEO of Monterey Bay Community Power. "Solar development has been a hallmark of California's renewable energy boom and with the storage component, we can realize the full potential of solar generation."
"We are delivering on our commitment to our customers to provide reliable, renewable energy that will help us reach our decarbonization goals," said Girish Balachandran, CEO of Silicon Valley Clean Energy. "This long-term agreement with EDF Renewables for solar-plus-storage shows that as a CCA we have the financial stability to make investments in these kinds of innovative renewable projects. EDF Renewables is pleased to be selected by SVCE and MBCP – two forward-thinking CCAs to supply affordable, in-state green energy to their customers. The inclusion of storage provides the agencies with a 100% clean and partially dispatchable product, allowing them to mitigate the 'duck curve' risk and press release monetize price spikes," said Valerie Barros, director of renewables and storage product development at EDF Renewables.
The electricity generated at full capacity is enough to meet the consumption of up to 64,000 average California homes. This is equivalent to avoiding more than 315,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually1 which represents the greenhouse gas emissions from 67,000 passenger vehicles driven over the course of one year.