Solar-Plus-Storage Project Brings New Energy to California

Clearway Energy Group’s Daggett Solar + Storage project, located in Daggett, California, in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles, is among the largest projects of its type in the U.S. The installation, part of the Daggett Energy Complex, features 482 MW of solar energy generation capacity, along with 280 MW of battery energy storage, which will rise to 394 MW (1.12 GWh) of storage capacity when the final storage phase comes online next year. The facility was built adjacent to the retired Coolwater Generating Station, a 636-MW natural gas-fired power plant that was closed by NRG Energy in January 2015.

Said California Gov. Gavin Newsom: “This is exactly the sort of innovation and big thinking that California needs, repurposing old fossil fuel infrastructure to build one of the biggest solar and battery projects in the country. With projects like this, we’ll achieve a 100% clean electric grid and drastically cut pollution to combat climate change—all while creating good-paying jobs.”

The project’s power is contracted with six load-serving entities, including Clean Power Alliance, Constellation, Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy), MCE (a community choice aggregation group), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), and Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA). Kelly noted that “San Diego Gas & Electric [SDG&E] is contracted for Daggett’s final 113.5 MW battery storage phase, which is expected to reach commercial operations in 2025.”

Ted Bardacke, CEO of the Clean Power Alliance, at the October 2023 ceremony marking the project’s commercial operation, said, “The Daggett facility is a vital asset for the Clean Power Alliance, providing enough energy to power approximately 85,000 homes in Southern California. There were numerous challenges in getting this project across the finish line including the pandemic, supply chain delays, solar panel tariffs, and extraordinary global crises such as the war in Ukraine. I’m glad we were able to work together to bring us to where we are today.”