The launch of one of the first utility-scale solar+storage peaker plants in the United States is paving the way for renewables to replace gas-fired facilities during peak power demand.
Built in Imperial County, California, the Vikings project is a benchmark for safe and reliable configurations of its kind, Kevin Smith, CEO of project developer and owner Arevon Energy, said in a release. Vikings incorporates solar panels, trackers, and batteries, showcasing “the growing strength of U.S. renewable energy manufacturing.”
Arevon describes the project as one of the first utility-scale solar peaker plants in the country. Peaker plants are electricity-generating facilities activated on demand when regular power plants cannot meet electricity needs. Most peaker plants rely on fossil fuels, producing costly, emissions-intensive electricity.
“An estimated 10% of grid infrastructure is built to supply energy during times of dangerous peak demand, which only make up 1% of the year,” according to energy company Enel.
The Vikings project—its name derived from a local high-school mascot—will add peaking capacity to the grid without burning fossil fuels. It uses Tesla megapack battery energy storage systems, First Solar thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, and Nextracker smart solar trackers for a 157-megawatt solar array paired with 150 megawatts/600 megawatt-hours of battery storage. Jacob Montgomery, director of development at Arevon, said the “unique 1:1 solar to storage configuration” allows all the energy generated during sunlight hours to be stored and used later during peak demand, writes Renewable Energy World.
“We’re specifically thrilled regarding the unique layout, which gives a storage component that is as powerful as our ability to produce solar energy,” COO Justin Johnson said in February.
“This unique layout, an expansion of our ongoing commitment to leading-edge modern technologies, will enable the facility to provide energy whenever needed, assisting to support the grid, as well as profiting everybody in this community, as well as throughout the state of California.”
Arevon was one of the first companies to use a transferability provision for utility-scale solar or storage projects in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which allows project owners to hand over tax credits to profitable shareholders.
