LADWP Celebrates Clean Energy Milestone at the Eland Solar plus Energy Storage Center

Project to produce power for more than 266,000 L.A. homes

[Link] Photovoltaic Panels at the Eland Solar-plus-Energy Storage Center.
Photo Courtesy: LADWP

MOJAVE, CA (December 13, 2024)-Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has announced that Los Angeles will reach 64 percent clean energy with the completion of the Eland Solar-plus-Storage Center, an important milestone as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) makes significant investments to transition to a 100 percent clean energy future. The power that will be generated by both phases of the Eland project - Eland 1 and Eland 2 - will meet 7 percent of Los Angeles's total energy consumption while helping to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Eland can provide enough power to supply more than 266,000 households across Los Angeles.

Eland Solar-plus-Storage Center, which sits on approximately 4,600 acres near Mojave in Kern County, is the largest solar and battery energy storage system interconnected with LADWP's electric grid.

"We are getting cleaner and more affordable energy," said Mayor Karen Bass. "This large-scale solar installation and battery storage system will generate enough power to serve about 250,000 homes in Los Angeles and once fully operational, it will help push the city's clean energy share above 60 percent by 2025, accelerating the transition to sustainable energy. Thank you to LADWP for working towards our clean energy goals and creating a greener Los Angeles."

LADWP has over 1,100 MW of utility-scale solar previously installed and Eland is unique in that it is LADWP's first utility-scale, integrated solar and battery project. Eland's two large-scale solar facilities will capture a combined 400 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and store up to 1,200 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy - all of which can be distributed to customers to meet peak demand in the evening and night-time hours when solar energy is unavailable by discharging solar power after the sun has gone down.

[Link] Battery storage units at Eland.
Photo Courtesy: LADWP

"It is a proud moment for Los Angeles and LADWP as we reach this momentous accomplishment in our clean energy goals," said LADWP CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones. "Eland is the latest addition to our green energy portfolio that will let us reach more than 60 percent clean energy."

LADWP's nearby Barren Ridge Renewable Energy Hub receives the power produced by Eland, along with other renewable projects in the region, before transmitting that power back to Los Angeles.

Quiñones adds, "All this was made possible by our important renewable investments in the Barren Ridge Renewable Energy Hub, the hard work of our own LADWP crews to expand the Barren Ridge Switching Station to accommodate the power received from Eland, and by utility-scale solar projects built by our partners like Arevon."

LADWP collaborated with Arevon, the developer, owner and operator of Eland, to procure the power produced from Eland under a long-term power purchase agreement. Phase 1 of Eland was recently completed and energized with Phase 2's completion expected in early 2025. The Eland project is forecasted to help L.A. reach 64 percent clean energy by the end of 2025. Over the 25-year term of the contract, the Eland Power Purchase Agreement will save LADWP's ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Not only will the Eland Power Purchase Agreement make a monumental impact on Los Angeles' clean energy future, but it also ensures that our ratepayers, each time they pay their bills, are putting their money towards the reliable, sustainable energy that will power Los Angeles into the future and ensure a greener world for our children who come after us," said Richard Katz, President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.

On December 4, Quiñones, joined by Nurit Katz, Board of Water and Power Commissioner, and David Hanson, Senior Assistant General Manager of LADWP's Power System, visited the Eland Solar-plus-Storage Center in Mojave to mark the important clean energy milestone for L.A. Also present were representatives of Arevon, the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), and Glendale Water and Power (GWP), which will receive 12.5 percent of the total solar and battery storage from Eland 1 via an agreement administered through SCPPA.

[Link] Commissioner Nurit Katz, Quiñones, Hanson and Jason Rondou.
Photo Courtesy: LADWP

"The Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project signifies Arevon's ongoing commitment to advancing clean, renewable energy in California," Kevin Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Arevon, said. "With each solar and storage project, we deliver reliable energy to Californians and support a resilient grid, while also driving new jobs, revenue, and economic activity in this region."

In 2019, the Los Angeles City Council approved the two Power Purchase Agreements that paved the way for Eland 1 and Eland 2 to be developed.

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