Arevon’s 758MW/1,200MWh Eland Solar-plus-Storage takes Los Angeles to over 60% clean energy

The project uses Tesla’s Megapack 2XL BESS units manufactured at the company’s 40GWh ‘Megafactory’ in Lathrop, California. SOLV Energy performed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) duties. Arevon also revealed that US firm Nextracker provided solar trackers.

The project’s main offtaker is the state government-owned municipal utility LA Department of Water & Power (LADWP).

The utility and Arevon negotiated a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for most of the generated energy. It marks the first integrated solar and battery project in LADWP’s portfolio, which now exceeds 1,100MW of utility-scale solar.

LADWP CEO Janisse Quinones said yesterday that the project “has had the lowest cost for solar and storage, translating to more affordable bills for our LADWP customers.”

Quinones said the project had what LADWP and the city need to achieve their goal of 100% clean energy by 2035: “scale, energy storage, reliability, and innovation — while demonstrating what is possible when public and private sectors partner to benefit our city.”

Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), a joint powers agency set up to enable a collective of 10 municipal utilities and one irrigation district to finance generation and transmission, also signed a PPA with Arevon for Eland.

SCPPA and member utility Glendale Water & Power will offtake 12.5% of the energy generated by Eland 1 (200MWac).

Arevon said that US$2 billion in private capital was invested into the solar-plus-storage project. This included a combined US$1.1 billion in tax equity and debt financing raised for Eland 2 in February 2024.

The company emphasised the critical role of solar paired with batteries to help meet rising electricity demand from new sources, most prominently AI data centres.

It said that that in the first eight months of its operation, Eland 1’s battery system has been dispatched more than 350 times to meet over 1,550 hours of critical peak-time operation and enabled more than 1,400 hours of night-time delivery of renewable energy while its fast response technology means it can deliver power to the grid within three seconds of receiving a dispatch signal.

Eland Solar-plus-Storage’s inauguration event comes just a few days after Arevon announced the start of construction at its next big California project, the 300MW/1,200MWh Nighthawk standalone BESS in Poway, San Diego.

California’s biggest investor-owned utility (IOU), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), has entered a long-term resource adequacy (RA) agreement with the developer for Nighthawk, which also features Tesla Megapack BESS technology.

Arevon secured a further US$600 million in financing to support the growth of its solar PV and energy storage portfolio in the US a few weeks ago. The IPP-developer is headquartered in Arizona, currently owning and operating a portfolio of around 5GW of solar PV and energy storage projects in 17 US states, with a 6GW development pipeline.

In a recent interview with ESN Premium, Arevon CEO Kevin Smith discussed the importance of community engagement to win over local support for renewable energy and storage projects.

Smith said that pushback can be expected in “virtually every project,” but it is essential to address concerns directly and engage with communities as early as possible, detailing the steps Arevon takes, including providing information and education and listening to the community’s needs and feedback.

For the Eland project, Arevon supported around 1,000 jobs, prioritising local labour and skilled trades, for an asset that will contribute over US$36 million in local tax revenue over its lifetime. Arevon also supported local causes, including revitalising a local park, assisting a food bank, and joining a community cleanup effort.

In other California battery storage project news, Fullmark Energy has brought online its first project since a company rebrand from its former name, Hecate Grid, in May.

The energy storage-focused IPP announced yesterday that commercial operations at its 20MW/40MWh Desert-Carris BESS project in Palm Springs have started.

Fullmark Energy said the project will play into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power market. It is sited close to critical grid infrastructure and can be called upon as necessary by grid operators.

It is the second in ‘The Redwood Projects,’ a four-BESS portfolio the company is developing in Southern California. The first 20MW/80MWh project, Johanna Energy Storage, went online in 2019 through Hecate Grid.

Along with Johanna and Desert-Carris, Fullmark is developing the 20MW Ortega project and 65MW San Jacinto project as part of the Redwood Projects. Both are close to completion, according to the company.

Fullmark’s predecessor brand, Hecate Grid, was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from renewables developer Hecate Energy, with backing from infrastructure investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners. InfraRed, which has around US$13 billion in equity under management, continues to back Fullmark Energy.