The Federal government approved the start of construction for three solar projects near Desert Center, California in eastern Riverside County. The Department of the Interior approved construction of the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects in June and the Oberon Solar Project in July.
The government announced the three projects in December 2021 under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which is a landscape-level plan focused on 10.8 million acres of public lands in the desert regions of seven California counties. The plan is part of the Biden administration’s plan to permit at least 25 gigawatts of solar, wind, and geothermal production on public lands by 2025.
The Arica Solar Project will generate up to 265 megawatts of renewable energy and the Victory Pass Solar Project will generate up to 200 megawatts of renewable energy. The projects together are on approximately 4,000 acres and will power approximately 132,000 homes. The two projects, owned by Clearway Energy Group, will also add a combined 400 megawatts of battery storage.
The Oberon Solar Project will generate up to 500 megawatts of renewable energy that will power approximately 146,000 homes. The project, located on about 2,600 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, will also include 500 megawatts of battery storage. It is expected to be completed in late 2023. Intersect Power, LLC owns the project through its IP Oberon, LLC subsidiary.
The Interior Department also approved construction of the Ten West Link Transmission Line project, a 125-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that will connect existing substations near Tonopah, Arizona and Blythe, California. The project will provide transmission infrastructure to support the development of utility-scale solar energy resources. Scoping for the project began in March 2016 and the draft environmental impact statement was released in August 2018.
The region between Arizona and California is considered to have some of the highest potential for utility-scale solar photovoltaic energy development in the United States. According to the Bureau of Land Management, it is processing 64 proposed utility-scale clean energy projects on public lands in the western United States.