Solar Star is a 579-megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power station near Rosamond, California, United States, that is operated and maintained by SunPower Services. When completed in June 2015, it was the world's largest solar farm in terms of installed capacity, using 1.7 million solar panels, made by SunPower and spread over .
Comparison to similar plants
Compared to other photovoltaic plants of similar size, Solar Star uses a smaller number (1.7 million) of large form-factor, high-wattage, high-efficiency, higher cost crystalline silicon modules, mounted on single axis trackers. In contrast, the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and the Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW each) use a larger number (roughly 9 million) of smaller form-factor, lower wattage, lower efficiency, lower cost thin-film CdTe photovoltaic modules, mounted on fixed-tilt arrays and spread over a larger land area. Both approaches appear commercially viable.
There are a number of other solar photovoltaic plants nearby: Antelope Valley Solar Ranch (266 MW from 3.8 million thin film panels) Alpine Solar (66 MW AC, thin film panels) Catalina Solar Project (60 MW, thin film panels)
Electricity production
Solar Star 1's nameplate capacities are 398 MWdc and 314 MWac.
+Generation (MW·h) of Solar Star 1 Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2014 14,332 28,753 36,448 38,215 35,596 36,759 37,188 42,315 31,070 24,669 325,345 2015 34,125 69,839 84,200 97,302 93,801 99,408 97,315 81,857 63,305 55,844 44,893 821,889 2016 39,867 39,296 32,636 84,802 91,786 51,523 52,262 99,009 85,110 67,456 50,141 36,270 679,158 2017 41,432 48,667 79,574 86,741 99,308 105,230 102,026 91,375 82,008 72,837 50,163 46,171 905,532 2018 44,314 60,323 67,871 88,462 102,351 105,674 97,203 96,445 84,320 66,841 49,275 43,626 906,705 2019 40,956 50,112 70,909 78,741 82,254 100,807 100,508 100,127 82,965 74,358 49,294 31,357 862,388 2020 50,547 61,602 56,733 60,814 229,696Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) 891,541
Solar Star 2's nameplate capacities are 350 MWdc and 266 MWac.
+Generation (MW·h) of Solar Star 2 Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 2014 14,321 19,610 30,291 42,338 44,483 52,767 52,276 50,675 40,447 32,848 380,056 2015 40,769 50,582 68,531 77,036 87,210 83,183 87,909 85,625 72,530 55,497 49,895 39,635 798,402 2016 34,065 56,385 53,776 74,427 89,089 65,376 95,256 86,438 73,226 58,390 45,752 35,668 767,848 2017 36,824 42,569 69,736 76,824 71,491 90,485 84,702 78,023 71,119 62,199 43,428 40,789 768,189 2018 38,743 53,333 60,030 78,275 90,722 90,729 81,903 81,814 74,103 59,716 42,773 37,987 790,128 2019 35,800 43,867 62,156 69,316 72,178 88,927 90,397 87,610 72,794 65,450 43,786 24,485 756,766 2020 44,125 52,918 50,630 54,672 202,345Average Annual Production (years 2017–2019) 771,694
See also
List of photovoltaic power stations Solar power in California Tejon Ranch Radar Cross Section Facility
References
External links Fact sheet from SunPower