EDF Renewables puts Desert Quartzite solar-plus-storage project into action in California, US

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

EDF Renewables North America has begun operations on a 375MW/600MWh solar-plus-storage project in California, US.

The company announced last week (31st January) that the Desert Quartzite project in Riverside County, California, began operations in December 2024. EDF Renewables – a regional subsidiary of French energy giant EDF – did not specify the suppliers of the solar or storage elements of the project. The battery energy storage system (BESS) is a 4-hour, 150MW installation.

Solar projects in California are increasingly paired with energy storage to adapt to the state’s grid and energy mix. The “duck curve” – where solar generation peaks in the day and pushes power prices to near or below zero before it drops off when demand spikes in the evening – has made energy storage essential to balancing supply and demand across California.

A number of major project developers including EDP Renewables and Arevon have invested vast amounts in large-scale solar-plus-storage projects across California, to the extent that EDP Renewables North America CEO, Sandhya Ganapathy, told PV Tech that the “low hanging fruit” for solar developers was gone across major US markets. She said that companies would need to innovate, either in technology or geography, to be competitive.  

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Desert Quartzite was built on Federal Land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is part of the Department of the Interior (DOI). The BLM manages millions of acres of land, largely across the western US, much of which it has proposed for renewable energy development.

To read the full version of this story, visit PV Tech.

Read Next

Premium
August 28, 2025
Energy-Storage.news Premium speaks with Sergio Melendez, storage sector manager at CAISO, and Ali Karimian, market optimisation director at GridBeyond, about regulating Bid Cost Recovery Payments in the California Independent System Operator market.
August 28, 2025
California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has pushed back recommissioning of the Elkhorn battery energy storage system (BESS) by approximately one year, to 30 June 2026.
Premium
August 27, 2025
Following in the footsteps of several other US jurisdictions this year, officials at California’s Orange County are one step closer to amending zoning laws to allow the development of BESS. 
August 26, 2025
After an initial rush to deploy that gave CAISO and ERCOT the lead in US BESS adoption, both markets are focused on capacity and availability, writes Amit Mathrani of Rabobank Americas.
August 25, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Fullmark Energy has announced the commercial operation of its 20MW/40MWh Ortega energy storage project in Lake Elsinore, California, US.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter