LA to buy power from energy center developed by 8minute

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has announced a 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.

8minute will build a massive new state-of-the-art facility — Eland Solar & Storage Center — to serve the needs of the LADWP. Eland Solar & Storage Center will deliver up to 400 MW of clean energy to the grid while capable of storing up to 300 MW/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, Eland will be built in 2 phases starting operations in 2022 with full operational capabilities in 2023.

As part of the newly established partnership, 8minute will sell power to LADWP at US$0.02 per kWh - the lowest solar energy prices on record in the U.S.

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 Solar & Storage Center will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 1.2 million metric tons each year, equivalent to taking nearly 150,000 cars off the streets.