Avangrid Sends New Solar Power to California's Grid

Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Clean-energy focused Avangrid Incorporated (Orange, Connecticut) recently said it has started sending power from its Camino solar power project in Kern County, California, to the state's grid.

"First energy is always cause for celebration, and it's a direct result of years of hard work developing and building a new project," said Pedro Azagra, the chief executive officer for Avangrid, in a press release. "Camino will help meet a growing demand for power and support the region's energy independence, while creating jobs and delivering key economic benefits."

Avangrid, part of the Iberdrola Group (Bilbao, Spain), started construction in April on the Camino project, which it said was its first solar power facility in California. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project and Plant database can learn more in a detailed project report and plant profile.

Camino will start commercial operations later this spring with a peak design capacity of 45 megawatts (MW), which Avangrid said will be enough to provide energy to about 14,000 homes each year.

Camino is sited next to Avangrid's 189-MW Manzana windfarm, which started commercial operations in 2012. The entire facility is planned for a combination of private land and 200 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Subscribers can learn more about Manzana in a detailed plant profile.

State laws and incentives support clean energy in California. The state is the largest solar market in the country, with more than 49 gigawatts of installed capacity. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), that accounted for about 30% of the power on the state grid.

Utility regulators can curtail solar power if there's a surplus or when battery-storage systems are full. The California Independent System Operator (CISO) at times sells that surplus, including from renewable resources, to neighboring states.

Avangrid, meanwhile, is spending. Joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Bergum, the company announced from the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston last week that it was committed to investing $20 billion on grid infrastructure through the end of the decade.

"They discussed how growing energy demand requires a critical need to invest in energy infrastructure, and that the U.S. is a top investment destination as Avangrid and Iberdrola modernize and expand the country's electrical grid," Avangrid added on the meeting with U.S. officials.

It offered few project specifics, however. Avangrid last year claimed the lead position in offshore wind energy capacity after the first 10 turbines for the Vineyard Wind facility offshore Massachusetts turned on in June.

President Donald Trump, however, is a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, creating a council for energy dominance to encourage production and exports, particularly exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In one of his first acts of office, Trump suspended new leases for offshore wind. Speaking in Houston last week, Wright added that natural gas was necessary for grid stability.

"Beyond the obvious scale and cost problems, there is simply no physical way that wind, solar and batteries could replace the myriad uses of natural gas," he said.

Nationwide, renewables account for about 25% of the energy on the grid.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).