The completion of a utility-scale renewable energy project in Southern California expands the state's solar generation and battery storage capacity while supporting grid reliability. Terra-Gen has commissioned the final phase of its Lockhart Solar and Storage development, bringing the multi-phase energy complex to full operational capacity.
The newly operational Lockhart IV project adds 80 megawatts of solar generation to Terra-Gen's renewable energy portfolio in San Bernardino County, California.
With the project's completion, the Lockhart Solar and Storage complex now provides a combined 365 MW of solar capacity and 173.7 MW of battery energy storage across four development phases.
The facility is designed to generate enough electricity to serve approximately 40,000 homes and businesses annually under a long-term power purchase agreement. Overall, the completed complex has the capacity to support the annual electricity needs of more than 350,000 homes and businesses.
The Lockhart Solar and Storage complex occupies approximately 4,000 acres of privately owned land and includes nearly one million solar modules and 248 battery storage enclosures.
Cupertino Electric served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for Lockhart IV. Construction generated more than 220 jobs at peak activity, with project teams completing over 122,000 work hours without a reported lost-time incident.
The facility is interconnected through the existing transmission infrastructure serving Southern California Edison’s Kramer Junction Substation.
Terra-Gen, jointly owned by Masdar and Igneo Infrastructure Partners, continues to expand its U.S. portfolio of utility-scale solar, wind and energy storage projects.
Large hybrid solar and battery storage projects are becoming an increasingly important part of utility-scale energy development. For construction owners, EPC contractors and developers, projects like Lockhart demonstrate the growing demand for integrated renewable energy facilities that combine solar generation with battery storage to improve grid flexibility and meet rising electricity demand.
Source: Solar Quarter.
