EDF signs 20-year solar PPA with BESS option for Southern California Public Power Authority

By Will Norman
March 24, 2023
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

EDF Renewables North America has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) for its 117MW solar PV project in Riverside County.

The Sapphire Solar project is set to come online by the end of 2026 and will supply power to the cities of Anaheim, Pasadena and Vernon through their participation in SCPPA. The agreement also contains an option for SCPPA to access a 236MWh battery energy storage system.

“Sapphire Solar will supply 117 MWac of solar capacity and a 59MWac/236 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to our growing renewable and energy storage resource mix,” said Michael Webster, executive director of SCPPA. “This project will help our Participating SCPPA Members meet and exceed renewable energy and resource adequacy requirements, while at the same time minimising costs and maintaining reliability.”

EDF renewables – a subsidiary of France’s state-owned EDF Group – has developed over 16GW of solar, storage and wind projects in the US. It recently signed a virtual PPA with McDonald’s for its 332MW Texas solar facility.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

In California, the company connected a 475MW solar-plus-storage project to the grid last August, located on public land. The Sapphire Solar project will be situated on private land.

Riverside County also hosts EDF Renewables’ Desert Harvest I solar project which became operational in 2020. Solar plays a big role in California’s energy generation and transition framework, and will have to continue being installed at record rates if the state is to meet its targets over the next quarter-century.

This story first appeared on PV Tech.

Read Next

February 24, 2026
Wooderson Solar Development Co has secured federal environmental approval for a 450MW solar PV power plant with 3,600MWh of co-located battery energy storage in Queensland, Australia.
February 19, 2026
In this US news roundup, CC Power signs an agreement with Hydrostor for 400MWh of its Willow Rock LDES project, PowerSecure builds microgrids in New Mexico, and ESS Inc acquires VoltStorage.
Premium
February 19, 2026
We hear from Netherlands-based ‘distributed hybridisation’ sodium-ion BESS startup Moonwatt, as it announces its first project 18 months after being founded and around a year after executives introduced its tech and strategy to Energy-Storage.news.
February 18, 2026
IPP Lydian Energy has secured US$689 million in financing for two solar projects and a battery energy storage system (BESS) project in New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, US.
February 18, 2026
More needs to be done to cement energy storage’s vital role in European energy resilience, writes Teresa Casacchia, head of storage at Baywa r.e.