Construction activity is ramping up on two large commercial solar projects on the Carrizo Plain.
More than 400 workers are employed building the two projects which, when complete, will produce 800 megawatts of power. Work on both projects began late last year, and construction is expected to take three years to complete.
Furthest along is the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch by SunPower Corp., near the Kern County line. More than 360 workers are on site, said Ingrid Ekstrom, a SunPower spokeswoman. Work has progressed to the point that photovoltaic panels are being installed on tens of thousands of metal posts. As of the end of January, 30,390 panels had been installed, which is enough to generate nearly 13 megawatts of power, Ekstrom said.
The 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm by First Solar is employing about 60 workers who are installing posts in the ground and doing preparatory work, such as installation of office trailers and road construction, said Alan Bernheimer, First Solar spokesman.
The Topaz project is near Bitterwater Road, about four miles west of the SunPower project. Eventually, the work force at the project is expected to reach about 400.
The project is getting back up to speed after First Solar furloughed about 50 of its 60 workers for about two weeks last month. The slowdown was designed to allow the company time to do some engineering reviews, Bernheimer said.
Last week, First Solar announced that MidAmerican Renewables LLC, a subsidiary of one of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway companies, had completed its purchase of the Topaz Solar Farm. First Solar will continue to build and operate the plant.
Both projects require that construction materials and heavy equipment be brought in on Highway 58 from Interstate 5. This can cause lane closures of up to 30 minutes on Highway 58 at the San Luis Obispo-Kern county line.
For information on road closures related to the construction, go to www.carrizosolartraffic.com.
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.