A solar battery project scheduled for Fresno County has been quickly tracked by the Governor of California Gavin Newsom (D), becoming the first major clean energy project that advanced the new regulatory program in Spain.
The Hybrid Cornucopia project It is expected to offer 300 MW of renewable solar energy and 300 MW of battery storage. Baywa Re Americanas, a US subsidiary of a German-based renewable energy company, is building the project. Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2027 and complete in mid -2030, the company said.
Earlier this month, Newsom certified the project through a scale regulation policy, known as the “faster building” plan. The movement, established as part of the 2023 infrastructure package approved by the state legislature, rationalizes the process of legal challenges against Eligible projects of clean energy and green housing
Although the Act of Environmental Quality of California (CEQA).
With the certification, the courts have to decide the CEQA challenges within 270 days, saving months or even years of litigation delays after a project has already approved the environmental review, although it allows you to listen to legal challenges.
“When you quickly monitor critical projects, we create good payment jobs, cutting pollution and building a cleaner and more reliable energy network to serve Californians for generations,” said Governor Newsom in a statement.
Cornucopy solar energy generation installation is planned to consist of photovoltaic solar modules, a substation and switching station, an energy storage system and two prefabricated structures that will be used for maintenance and operation services and for control services.
Solar modules would be connected to power investors to turn sunlight into an alternative current power. Energy would be transferred from investors to a substation before the power was sent to the local electricity network. The substation is expected to include an electrical control building and will be incorporated into the switching station through a new transmission line.
The energy storage system in Cornucopia will be formed by the storage of batteries that includes lithium, flow or sodium sulfur batteries. This system would be located next to a New Pacific and Pacific Electric StationWith a footprint of about 12 hectares of size. As the site will still be subject to certain rules of agricultural land use, the company said that the sheep will graze in land inside and surround the proposed solar photovoltaic teams and equipment.
The combination of solar energy and battery storage will allow the installation to provide non -carbon electricity in the network during maximum demand times, including night hours and night when the renewable generation is limited. According to officials, the project will be able to feed up to 300,000 homes.
