The Slate Project is a 390 MW solar and 561 MWh battery storage facility in Kings County, California, originally developed by Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy. The project reached commercial operation on March 15, 2022, with Goldman Sachs Renewable Power (GSRP) hosting a ribbon-cutting event to mark the milestone. Construction was completed by DH Blattner and Sons, a Quanta Services company, which broke ground in December 2020 and wrapped up work in early 2022.

Five California Institutions Now Receiving Clean Power from Kings County

Since coming online, the Slate facility has been supplying dispatchable clean energy to five California-based power purchase agreement offtakers. These include Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which now maintains a 100% greenhouse gas-free power supply, Central Coast Community Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Stanford University, and the Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority. The facility displaces approximately 369,310 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, and the battery storage system allows offtakers to access carbon-free power during evening peak demand periods when solar generation is unavailable. That operating model is increasingly becoming the template for California’s next generation of utility-scale renewable projects, including the recently financed Darden Clean Energy Project, which is set to become the state’s largest combined solar and battery storage development and one of the most significant integrated clean energy investments yet structured under the post-IRA financing environment.

Project Overview

• Project Name: The Slate Solar and Storage Project
• Location: Kings County, California, USA
• Developer/Owner: Goldman Sachs Renewable Power (GSRP); originally developed by Recurrent Energy (Canadian Solar subsidiary)
• Total Cost/Value: Not disclosed
• Scale/Capacity: 390 MW solar PV and 140.25 MW / 561 MWh battery energy storage system
• Construction Start: December 2020 / January 2021
• Expected Completion: Completed March 2022
• Funding/Financing: Goldman Sachs Renewable Power (owner); PNC Bank (tax equity commitment)
• Current Status: Fully operational as of March 15, 2022
• Key Milestone: Ribbon-cutting ceremony held March 15, 2022; now serving five California offtakers under long-term PPAs

Project Team

• Recurrent Energy (Canadian Solar subsidiary) — Original Developer
• Goldman Sachs Renewable Power (GSRP) — Project Owner and Operator
• Canadian Solar / System Solutions and Energy Storage (SSES) — Battery Storage Integration Contractor
• DH Blattner and Sons (Quanta Services company) — EPC Contractor
• PNC Bank — Tax Equity Financier
• Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) — Power Purchase Agreement Offtaker
• Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) — Power Purchase Agreement Offtaker
• Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) — Power Purchase Agreement Offtaker
• Stanford University — Power Purchase Agreement Offtaker
• Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority (PWRPA) — Power Purchase Agreement Offtaker
• California Energy Commission — Permitting and Regulatory Authority

Reported 25th January 2021: The Slate Project, a 300MW solar and 140.25-MW/561-MWh storage project located in Kings County, California, and has begun construction. System Solutions and Energy Storage (SSES), Canadian Solar’s majority-owned energy storage subsidiary will provide the battery integration solution for the project. Additionally, PNC Bank is providing a tax equity commitment to the project. The project has signed PPAs with five different off-takers, four of which are solar and energy storage, and one that is solar-only. The Slate project will generate enough low-cost, clean energy to power approximately 126,000 California homes. The power plant will use approximately 962,000 of Canadian Solar’s high-efficiency bifacial BiKu modules across approximately 2,400 acres in Kings County, California.

Also Read: Construction of 1.1GW solar and storage project in California begins

The project is expected to employ 405 workers when construction is at its peak, with at least 50% of those construction jobs expected to be filled by local skilled tradesmen from the Kings County area. Along with indirect economic benefits that accompany solar project development, such as increased local spending in the service and construction industries, the Slate project will also have a positive economic impact on the local community by providing significant tax revenues for Kings County.

Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman, and CEO of Canadian Solar stated, “The Slate project is Recurrent Energy’s largest solar-plus-storage project and represents continued investment in a community where we have done business for nearly a decade. Given the huge market opportunity presented by battery storage, both standalone as well as paired with solar, we have focused significant resources in developing our own technological, servicing, and financing solutions over the past few years. We are now starting to see our efforts come to fruition and are solidly positioning Canadian Solar as a market leader in this space. This transaction demonstrates that our SSES team is now a top bankable battery storage solutions provider with deep technical know-how in solar and battery integration technology. Likewise, the Recurrent Energy team has done an excellent job in growing our storage pipeline in the U.S. which is currently over 4 GWh.”