Desert Sunlight 250
Riverside County
Overview
- Reported capacity
- 249.7 MW
- EIA-reported operating capacity; nameplate, seasonal, AC/DC, and unit ratings may differ.
- Technology
- Solar Photovoltaic
- Primary generation technology.
- Registry anchor
- Plant 58542
- Riverside County · CAISO
- Operating status
- Operating
- Desert Sunlight 250, LLC is operating.
- Grid connection
- Red Bluff Substation
- 230 kV · Southern California Edison Company (SCE)
- Commercial operation
- December 2014
- Best-supported operating milestone.
Infrastructure record
- Operator
- NextEra Energy Desert Sunlight 250, LLC
- Alternate name
- Desert Sunlight Solar Farm
- Mapped facility footprint
- Mapped infrastructure footprint
Mapped infrastructure geometry associated with this asset.
- In service
- 2013-11
Profile
- Grid role
- Utility-scale photovoltaic generation within the Desert Sunlight farm, whose power is supplied to Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison under long-term contracts.
- Grid connection
- Red Bluff Substation · 230 kV · Southern California Edison Company (SCE).
- Physical build
- Operational 249.7 MW solar photovoltaic facility with nine generating units. The exact Desert Sunlight 250 Facility includes photovoltaic modules, inverters, trackers, ground-mount racking systems, electrical collection systems, access roads, associated equipment/materials and improvements, and a Gen-Tie line. Official sources report 8.9 million First Solar Series 3 modules and GE power inverters for the combined 550 MW Desert Sunlight project, but do not allocate those counts to the exact 250 MW facility; therefore no exact 250-only module or inverter count is reported.
Structured profile
- Reported capacity
- 249.7 MW
Solar Photovoltaic
- Commercial operation
- December 2014
- Operating status
- operating
Desert Sunlight 250, LLC is operating.
- Interconnection
- Red Bluff Substation
230 kV · Southern California Edison Company (SCE)
- Location
Generation and physical site
EIA plant 58542 · Inventory for Sep 2026.
Reported operating nameplate by technology
- Solar
- 249.7 MW
Generator records (9)
| Generator | Technology | Status | Power (MW) | Energy (MWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSL12 | Solar Photovoltaic | Operating | 39.1 | Unknown |
| DSL13 | Solar Photovoltaic | Operating | 39.1 | Unknown |
| DSL14 | Solar Photovoltaic | Operating | 26.5 | Unknown |
| DSL15 | Solar Photovoltaic | Operating | 13.9 | Unknown |
| DSL16 | Solar Photovoltaic |
Related assets
Similar plants ranked by technology, capacity, and distance.
Units and generators
Current generator records and technology attributes reported through EIA-860.
| Generator | Capacity | Technology | Operation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSL12 | 39.1 MW 39.1 MW summer | Solar Photovoltaic PV | Dec 2013 | Operating |
| DSL13 | 39.1 MW 39.1 MW summer | Solar Photovoltaic PV | Jan 2014 | Operating |
| DSL14 | 26.5 MW 26.5 MW summer | Solar Photovoltaic PV | Apr 2014 | Operating |
| DSL15 | 13.9 MW 13.9 MW summer | Solar Photovoltaic PV | Jun 2014 | Operating |
| DSL16 | 22.7 MW 22.7 MW summer | |||
Performance
Monthly EIA generation history and recent market-resource behavior where linked telemetry is available.
Peer context
- Technology capacity
- 249.7 MW
- Solar Photovoltaic
- National rank
- #117
- of 7,597 operating peers
- CA rank
- #23
- of 972 operating peers
Monthly generation
Download CSVLatest 12 months
555.7 GWh
Reported net generation
Latest report
Dec 2024
EIA-923 monthly filing
2024 capacity factor
25.3%
Using current reported nameplate capacity
Grid and market context
Deterministic links to ERCOT market resources, price records, outage disclosures, queue records, and nearby infrastructure. Candidate joins remain labeled until corroborated.
Nearby substations
HIFLD infrastructure inventoryIN SERVICE · 230 kV
5.7 km
Commercial, land, and environmental record
Source-backed project transactions, agreements, land records, permits, and environmental disclosures. Portfolio and adjacent-project facts remain explicitly scoped.
Transactions and agreements
EPC Agreement
Sep 29, 2011
EPC agreement dated September 29, 2011 between Desert Sunlight 250, LLC and First Solar Electric (California), Inc. for development, engineering, procurement, and construction of 250 MWac portion for fixed price of $807,932,028.
$807.9M250 MW contractedDesert Sunlight 250, LLC · First Solar Electric (California), Inc.
Land and environmental record
County Environmental Record
Aug 17, 2011
Approximately 4,165 acres; multiple parcels in Riverside County, Kaiser Road, Desert Center
California CEQA record lists Riverside County, Kaiser Road, Desert Center, approximately 4,165 total acres, and multiple parcel numbers. No individual APNs identified in cited record. This is project-level acreage for Desert Sunlight Solar Farm.
Environmental Mitigation And Remediation
2011
Habitat compensation, dry-wash woodland monitoring, groundwater monitoring, and remedial measures required; 10-year maintenance and monitoring period with continuation until performance standards met
Federal mitigation framework required monitoring and mitigation plans including groundwater and desert dry-wash woodland monitoring. If habitat mitigation failed to meet performance standards after 10-year maintenance and monitoring period, monitoring and remedial activities were to continue until standards met unless BLM and CPUC specified otherwise.
Environmental Review Record
Aug 17, 2011
California CEQA SCH Number 2011044003; Notice of Determination received and posted August 17, 2011
CEQA record identifies SCH Number 2011044003, U.S. Department of Interior/BLM as lead agency, Riverside County. Notice of Determination received and posted August 17, 2011. Mitigation measures were made conditions of project approval.
Land Tenure And Right Of Way
Aug 2011
BLM-managed public land under right-of-way grant, serial CACA-048649, issued August 2011
DOI briefing paper identifies serial number CACA-048649 for Desert Sunlight Solar Farm right-of-way. BLM issued right-of-way grant August 2011. Land is BLM-managed under long-term right-of-way grant for construction, operation, and decommissioning.
Operational Emissions And Waste
2015
Operational PV modules generate no air emissions or waste; no operational water use; construction and decommissioning controls still apply
Project description states PV modules generate no air emissions or waste and require no water for generation or cleaning. Federal environmental documentation separately addresses construction and decommissioning dust, erosion, hazardous materials, and waste controls. The no-emissions/no-waste statement applies to operational PV-module phase only.
Project Site Area
Jun 24, 2011
Approximately 4,176 acres of BLM-managed land
BLM/DOE preferred alternative covers approximately 4,176 acres of BLM-managed land. This is the shared Desert Sunlight Solar Farm project site spanning both 250 and 300 MW portions and should not be allocated entirely to 249.7-MW EIA plant without parcel-level allocation.
Related parties and identifiers
Parties, market resources, and identifiers tied to this asset, with owner, operator, developer, EPC, compliance provider, and interconnecting entity roles kept separate.
Relationship graph
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AssetOwner / operatorFinancierContractor
Timeline and sources
Project milestones and public references behind the asset profile.
Project timeline
- Construction BeganSource
First Solar reported that construction of the Desert Sunlight project had begun in September 2011.