The 300 megawatt (MW) Beltran solar photovoltaic (PV) power project
currently under development in Stanislaus County, California, is now one
step closer to completion — following reports that the developer
Centauri Energy has secured a grid connection agreement for the project. The project — which is currently set to be completed in 3 phases — is
now expected to begin delivering electricity to the grid in 2016 or
2017, following the provision of a grid connection queue position via
the California Independent System Operation (CAISO).
The CEO and president of Centauri Energy, Jeff Irvine, commented on
the recent news: “Beltran Solar has been in development for more than 5
years. The permits have been issued, the environmental impact studies
are finished and now the CAISO application is approved. These are some
of the biggest hurdles for a large-scale project like this. With all of
these complete, we’re ready to develop.”
Once completed, the 300 MW solar energy project will represent just
the latest in a number of large solar projects that have come online in
the highly populous (and sunny) Pacific state in recent years.
Cumulative solar PV capacity in California now stands at 10.6
gigawatts (GW) — considerably higher than the total back in 2014, which
was 3.5 GW — according to a recent report from the Solar Energy
Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research. That impressive rate of growth is down, at least partly, to recent
supportive governmental policies in the state, according to most
analysts. That said, solar growth is in general occurring fairly
rapidly in many regions now, regardless of supportive policies.
Image Credit: California Flag via Flickr CC
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/10/300-mw-beltran-solar-pv-project-california-secures-grid-connection-agreement/