- BLM has given its nod for a 500 MW solar PV with 200 MW energy storage project in California
- Project will be built and operated by an Intersect Power subsidiary Oberon Solar, LLC
- It makes up the 3rd solar facility the BLM has cleared under its Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan in California
Another large scale solar and storage project, one with 500 MW solar PV and 200 MW storage capacity, has been cleared by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the US as the government pushes ahead with its target to achieve 100% carbon free electricity goal by 2035.
Oberon Solar Project has been given signal to come up on some 2,600 acres of BLM-managed public land near Desert Center in eastern Riverside County. The facility will be built by a special project company called Oberon Solar, LLC that will be in charge of constructing, operating, maintaining and decommissioning the project.
The project company is a subsidiary of Intersect Power that aims to realize this capacity as Oberon I and Oberon II with 250 MW each, targeting a commissioning deadline of 2023 (see North America PV News Snippets).
Oberon facility is part of the 3 projects, representing close to 1 GW solar power capacity, the BLM has approved under its Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) through which it will provide 10.8 million acres of desert land in 7 Californian counties for renewable energy development. In December 2021, it approved 265 MW Arica and 200 MW Victory Pass solar projects with 400 MW battery storage capacity under the same plan (see US Advances 1 GW Solar For Public Lands).
BLM has a task to permit 25 GW of renewable energy by 2025, on public lands it manages. In December 2021, it launched its largest solar development solicitation offering approximately 90,000 acres in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico (see 90,000 Acres US Public Land For Utility Scale Solar).
