World’s largest solar PV power plants worldwide 2021
Many of the largest solar power facilities in the world are located in India and China. In India, Bhadla solar farm, located in the Rajasthan Jodhpur district has a total production capacity of 2,245 megawatts.
The term solar plant refers to individual projects developed by a single developer or consortium, whether or not it is spread over different sites or is under various phases of development. Solar parks are multiple plants in one area under one entity. Nowadays, the largest solar parks have more than 50 individual solar power plants. This concept was first developed in India and China when suitable locations were found that could host several plants.
Solar market in Asia
China and India are both among the top five countries in the world in terms of cumulative solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. In general, Asia dominated the global solar market with 77 gigawatts of solar PV capacity added in 2020 – more than the rest of the world combined. Most notably, the potential for solar energy is very high in many Southeast Asian countries, but the market remains largely untapped. This is mostly due to a lack of energy policy encouraging solar and no optimal financing models or infrastructure.
Global cumulative installed solar PV capacity 2000-2021
Global benchmark capex for utility-scale solar PV 2010-2020
Worldwide demand for solar photovoltaics outlook 2015-2024
Global solar PV installed cost 2010-2021
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Statistics
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Largest solar farm in Illinois will help Chicago’s city operations meet climate goal
When it’s completed in late 2024, the solar project is projected to offset about 70% of electricity use by municipal operations, with the remainder eventually coming from distributed solar installed within the city.
by Kari Lydersen June 12, 2023 June 9, 2023
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Illinois’ largest solar farm is being built thanks to buy-in from the city of Chicago, helping the city’s government meet its climate goals of 100% clean energy by 2025.
The Double Black Diamond Solar Farm, located in downstate Illinois counties with long histories of coal mining, will have a 600-megawatt capacity, with about half of that devoted to Chicago.
The project will also provide energy to Loyola University and State Farm insurance company. The developer, Boston-based Swift Current Energy, said the total capacity will be enough to power about 100,000 homes and is equal to more than a quarter of Illinois’ current solar capacity, pegged at 2,036 MW last year.
Until 2022, Chicago had no specific commitments for clean energy procurement; a decade-old ordinance just mandated that the city’s power could not come from coal. Constellation, a former Exelon subsidiary that sells Chicago its electricity, has procured power primarily from nuclear and natural gas.
“There could have been renewables in the mix, but they were not being tracked,” said Chicago deputy chief sustainability officer Jared Policicchio.
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“We’re going to just jump straight to 100%” clean energy, he said. “We’ll go from zero to 100 on New Year’s Eve” of 2024.
The solar farm will offset about 70% of electricity consumption from Chicago’s municipal operations. The city will initially meet the remainder of its 100% goal through purchasing renewable energy credits. Ultimately the credits will be replaced by distributed solar on city property, Policicchio said. The city is using federal American Rescue Plan funding and bonds to begin installing distributed solar, starting with five libraries in disinvested neighborhoods.
On June 2, the U.S. Conference of Mayors awarded Chicago an Honorable Mention in its Climate Protection Award, citing former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 100% clean energy commitment. Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock won the award for large cities, and San Diego, Los Angeles, Tallahassee and Akron mayors also received honorable mention.
Good jobs
Swift Current president and co-founder Matt Birchby said the project is creating 450 jobs lasting about 14 months. Construction is underway, involving labor unions including IBEW, Carpenters, Ironworkers and Teamsters.
The engineering, procurement and construction contractor McCarthy is working with the unions to train workers. Most of the panels and the tracking system will be made in the U.S., and the site will be planted with pollinator-friendly habitat.
“In addition to the team’s efforts on apprenticeship, career development opportunities, and DEI, there is also a heightened FOCUS on biodiversity,” said Grant St. George, a vice president at McCarthy. He noted that McCarthy’s certified soil scientist is consulting on the project.
“They performed early topsoil surveys and seeded the site early to establish proper vegetation, and the site became visibly greener earlier than surrounding acreage.”
The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts Illinois will install more than 5 gigawatts of solar in the next five years, so people trained to work on Double Black Diamond can take those skills to other in-state projects in the future.
“With the [Inflation Reduction Act] and economic impact on the respective communities, these solar projects are establishing career opportunities for professionals of all ages and developing skills that provide the ability to learn, adapt and grow fast,” St. George said.
A caring commitment
Loyola University’s 12-year contract with the solar farm will help the Jesuit university meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2025, including by purchasing 81,660 megawatt-hours of electricity in the solar farm’s first year.
The solar farm will augment the university’s sustainability curriculum, which includes a School of Environmental Sustainability launched in 2020, extensive rainwater management infrastructure, and state-of-the-art energy-efficient buildings. The university’s contract ensures that students are allowed to tour the solar farm and study its analytics.
“We can throw a class in a van and go down there. They’ll do guest lectures for classes, and we’ll have data sharing — we can show that to a computer science class [or] a statistics class,” said Loyola sustainability director Aaron Durnbaugh. “I talk to students every single day who want to be part of this.”
To date, Loyola had been purchasing renewable energy credits and counting about 70% of its energy use as clean, but Durnbaugh said it was hard to know if those purchases actually helped promote new solar construction. The Double Black Diamond project is being built specifically due to the contracts with Loyola and Chicago, arrangements known as “sleeved power purchase agreements” through Constellation.
Durnbaugh said the solar farm helps Loyola fulfill a Jesuit commitment to “universal apostolic preferences” confirmed by Pope Francis, with one of the four preferences being an ecological promise to “care for our common home.”
“We have a pretty deep commitment to sustainability as part of our mission of social justice,” he said. “The reason we do it is for people in Chicago and around the world. Pope Francis has called us to that charge. We care for our current home; we really lean into that.”
Advancing equity
The Double Black Diamond solar farm can also help meet Illinois’ goals of carbon-free electricity by 2050.
Under the state’s 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, users who are buying renewable energy through a power purchase agreement like the solar farm can apply for a “direct pay” credit on their energy bill, meaning money basically going to the city from the ratepayer-funded state renewable energy coffers.
In order to get that credit, the project has to comply with the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act’s labor standards for utility-scale solar, including a project labor agreement, paying a prevailing wage and equity mandates.
The equity provisions require that 10% of a project’s workforce are from an environmental justice community or community disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, or are graduates of the foster care system, formerly incarcerated, or other criteria.
“We really love that we are also able to capitalize on CEJA’s labor and equity standards,” Policicchio said. “We want this to be a model for how utility-scale solar gets built. This is why public entities should be in this space. We recognize that there’s more at stake here than just climate change and transition to a clean economy. We need to do so in a way that’s advancing climate justice and creating new opportunities in this new world.”
Ivanpah Solar, California
The Ivanpah Solar is the third-largest in the US located at the base of Clark Mountain in California. The solar plant was built by BrightSource Energy and Bechtel at a cost of 5000.2 billion. NRG Energy is the largest investor in the project, having contributed 300 million towards its construction. The solar facility has a capacity of 392 MW. The project’s first unit was connected to the electrical grid for testing in 2013. The Ivanpah Solar project was launched in 2014 and it was the largest solar plant in the world at the time. There are more than 300,000 solar panels installed at the facility.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is notable for its use of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, specifically the use of large-scale, high-temperature solar power towers.
Agua Caliente Solar Project, Arizona
The Agua Caliente Solar Project is located in Arizona and occupies an earlier distributed agricultural land on the White Wing Ranch. The site was selected thanks to the availability of a lot of sunshine as well as the minimal transmission infrastructure. The Agua Caliente Solar Project was completed in 2014 and has a generation capacity of 290 MW.
The project was initially constructed by NextLight Renewable which was later acquired by First Solar in July 2010. NRG Energy took over the project from First Solar in 2011. The entire facility cost 450.8 billion to put up.
The first phase of the project was launched in December 2011 with a capacity of 39 MW. The second phase was completed in April 2012 and has a capacity of 100 MW while the third phase was launched in July 2012 and has a generation capacity of 247 MW.
The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, Nevada
This is a concentrated solar power (CSP) farm located in Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada, US. The facility sits on more than 1,600 acres of public land administered by the US Bureau of Land Management. The solar farm has an operational lifespan of 30 years.
The Crescent Dunes Solar was started in 2011 and has a capacity of 110MW. It is the first utility-scale solar power plant in the US and has its own energy storage technology. It is also the largest solar farm with integrated energy storage technology. The facility was constructed at a cost of 450 billion.
In the USA as well as globally the production of solar panels has grown exponentially as countries tap into the inexhaustible supply of solar energy available. Sunpower and LG are two leaders in solar panels manufacturing space. They have seen demand and revenue in the space multiply with each passing year.
3 thoughts on “Top 5 biggest solar farms in the US”
The 26% Federal Tax Credit is available to residents of Pennsylvania, and it allows you to recuperate 26% of your equipment AND installation costs for an unlimited amount. Other local rebates from your city, county, or utility may still be available.
Samson solar project near Paris texas. 1.3 GW….
Australia about to build a 30GW Sun Cable to power 25% of Singapore. The sheer size of sun cable will be bigger than U.S top 5 entire production.
Solar Industry FAQ
Solar power and other renewable energy projects are expected to grow substantially over the coming decades. The FOCUS on green energy and renewable resources is centered around creating a healthier planet and controlling global warming as much as possible.
Solar technology has finally reached a point where it’s a cost-effective solution to energy. This means that utilities and residential solar is finally at the point where it costs less than traditional coal or natural gas-produced energy.
Now that we’ve hit this level, the benefits far outweigh the downsides, and companies in the solar electricity industry will continue to grow and thrive. And, as we’ve seen lately, traditional energy companies will continue taking the hits and many of them will find it difficult to survive.
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