Construction is officially underway on Avangrid Inc.’s Camino Solar Project in Kern County, California — the company’s first photovoltaic project in the state.

Camino Solar will have the capacity to generate 57 megawatts of power.

The site will include 105,000 solar panels that are expected to generate the same amount of energy to power about 14,000 U.S. homes each year. The project is expected to create more than 100 construction jobs and several permanent jobs once complete.

Camino Solar is adjacent to Avangrid’s 189 MW Manzana Wind Farm, which reached commercial operation in 2012. It is located on a combination of private land and more than 200 acres of public lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“With this major milestone, we are one step closer to delivering clean solar energy in California to go along with our six wind energy facilities in the state,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO, in an April 9 press release. “This is yet another example of our commitment to developing projects that create jobs, support the local community and accelerate the clean energy transition.”

The project is in an area scientifically analyzed and identified as suitable for clean energy development as part of the BLM’s Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, Avangrid said.

“Public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management provide sites for environmentally responsible renewable energy development such as the Camino Solar Project,” said BLM California Desert District Manager Shelly Lynch. “This project supports the nation's transition to a clean energy economy by expanding access to clean energy, increasing reliability for the state's power grid, creating jobs and boosting local economies.”

Comments