BLM authorises construction start of 500-MW solar park in California

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Wednesday issued a notice to proceed that authorises the start of construction of the 500-MW Oberon solar project on public lands in the desert region of California’s Riverside County.

The final approval for construction was awarded six months after the government agency greenlighted the scheme, to be located on around 2,600 acres (1,052 ha) of BLM-managed lands near Desert Center. Oberon Solar LLC is behind the development.

Once in operation, the Oberon photovoltaic (PV) farm will be capable of producing electricity for roughly 146,000 homes. According to the plan, it will be coupled with a 200-MW battery storage facility.

Oberon Solar is one of three PV schemes that have been awarded permission under BLM’s Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, along with Clearway Energy Group LLC’s 265-MW Arica and 200-MW Victory Pass solar projects in eastern Riverside County. The two schemes, which will be integrated with 400 MW of total battery storage capacity, were in June issued final approval enabling their construction.

BLM noted it is currently processing 64 utility-scale clean energy projects on public lands in the western US that could add more than 41,000 MW of renewable energy to the western electric grid.

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