The 60MW Barren Ridge solar photovoltaic (PV) project in California’s Kern County has started commercial operations.

The plant has been developed by Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar. It will sell power to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) under a long-term contract.

The municipally-owned utility will use the electricity to power over 25,000 households in Los Angeles.

Construction work on the facility started in the autumn of 2015. In early November, Recurrent Energy said it had secured the required funds.

LADWP Power System executive director Michael Webster said: "We are committed to reaching 50 percent renewables by 2030, and this solar project plays an important role in reaching that goal.

"In addition, large-scale transmission line projects like our Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project facilitates a renewable energy hub that brings a thousand megawatts of wind and solar energy into the city of Los Angeles."

Canadian Solar chairman and CEO Shawn Qu said: "We are proud to work with LADWP to bring solar power to the city of Los Angeles and share their commitment to a clean energy future.

"This is the Company's third U.S. solar project to reach commercial operation this year, a milestone that would not be possible without the hard work and collaboration with our partners."

At present, Recurrent Energy has more than 4GW of solar projects that are completed and still under development in North America.

 


Image: Commercial operations of Recurrent Energy’s 60MW Barren Ridge solar project begin. Photo: Courtesy of worradmu/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.