LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipal utility in the United States, has announced a groundbreaking new partnership with 8minute Solar Energy, LLC to provide storable, renewable, and affordable power to households throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley—at the lowest combined solar and storage prices on record. The project offers a glimpse of the future, with zero carbon sources providing energy cheaper than fossil fuels.
As the country’s largest independent solar and storage powerplant development company, 8minute will build a massive new state-of-the-art facility—Eland Solar & Storage Center—to serve the needs of the LADWP. Eland will deliver up to 400MW of clean energy to the grid while capable of storing up to 300MW/1200 MWh (megawatt hours), dispatchable for use when the sun is not shining, typically in the evening and night hours when the load is still high. Located just 70 miles north of Los Angeles close to California City on over 2,000 acres of barren, desert land, much of which was previously disturbed, Eland will be built in 2 phases starting operations in 2022 with full operational capabilities in 2023. The project will be the largest municipal photovoltaic operation in the world. Due to the partnership’s unprecedented scale, 8minute is able to provide LADWP with the lowest solar energy prices on record in the U.S.: less than 2 cents per kWh.
“This is what the future of energy looks like,” said Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, President and CEO of 8minute, “and we’re thrilled to be co-creating that future in collaboration with our fellow innovators at LADWP and the labor community. Together, thanks to Eland’s advanced storage and dispatch capabilities, we’re working to dispel misconceptions about the availability, reliability, and long-term viability of clean solar power. Utilizing existing transmission infrastructure to an extent never before seen for solar power plants, allows for the rapid expansion of clean energy projects while saving the ratepayer money. It’s a huge win—for the city of Los Angeles, the people of California, and workers as well as a game-changer for the renewable energy industry.”
The Eland Solar & Storage Center has been engineered by 8minute to provide fully dispatchable power under control of the LADWP to meet its customers’ demands with reliable and cost-effective power—a capability previously reserved for large fossil fuel power plants. Eland’s ability to provide fully dispatchable power for less than the traditional cost of fossil fuels effectively positions solar PV as an attractive candidate to be the primary source of California’s 100% clean energy future.
When the Eland cluster comes online in 2023, 8minute will be the largest provider of clean energy to Los Angeles—supplying enough clean power for more than a million people throughout LA County. With a projected annual production capacity of more than 1.7 billion kWh, Eland will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 1.2 million metric tons each year, equivalent to taking nearly 150,000 cars off the streets. The project’s development and construction is expected to create more than 700 new jobs during the peak of construction.
About 8minute
8minute Solar Energy ("8minute") is the largest privately-held developer of solar PV and storage projects in the United States. Founded a decade ago by President and CEO Tom Buttgenbach, 8minute has over 15 GW of solar and storage under development in California, the Southwest, Texas, and the Southeast, with more than 1.5 GW of solar power plants now in operation. The company has also developed the largest solar plant in the nation, the 800 MW Mount Signal solar farm in California. 8minute has one of the best development teams in the industry with a track record of delivering above-market profitability and strong financial returns on utility-scale solar and storage projects. For more information, please visit www.8minute.com.