Terra-Gen, a renewables developer and operator has hired Mortenson for the construction of what will be the world’s largest standalone Solar and Energy storage project, the Edwards & Sanborn project located in Kern County, California. The project consists of 1,118 MW of solar and 2,165 MWh of energy storage. It is currently the largest single solar + storage project to reach this milestone. The Edwards and Sanborn project is located near many other wind and solar projects as Kern County is known for its several renewable energy projects. Mortenson is the full EPC contractor on both the solar and energy storage scopes. Site construction will begin within the first quarter of 2021 and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.
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Solar production on the site will utilize more than 2.5 million modules and energy storage will utilize more than 110,000 lithium-ion battery modules, enough to power 260,000 homes in California, and energy storage will utilize more than 110,000 lithium-ion battery modules. At peak construction, over 700 people will be employed on-site at the project. The project has already received interest from corporate customers. A deal has been facilitated between Terra-Gen and Starbucks that will see the coffee chain purchase 24MW of solar power and 5.5MW of battery storage from the Edwards and Sanborn project. Starbucks said in a separate announcement the deal will supply renewable energy for 550 branches in California.
“The Edwards & Sanborn solar and energy storage project is industry-changing and during this challenging 2020 will redefine the impact these systems will have on our clean energy future,” said Mortenson’s vice president and general manager of Sola, Trent Mostaert. “We are proud to combine our solar and energy storage design and construction expertise with Terra-Gen’s development capabilities to deliver a world-class energy facility.” Mortenson is one of the top contractors in power with industry-leading experience in wind, solar, transmission and distribution, repowering, and battery energy storage. The project is Mortenson’s 78th solar project and 11th energy storage project.
