NextEra commissions 485MW of solar in California

November 14, 2016
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The projects have created a significant boost for the Riverside County area, adding 1,500 construction jobs and increased economic activity for local businesses. Source: NextEra Twitter account

NextEra Energy Resources has commissioned the Blythe and McCoy Solar Energy Centres, which represent 485MW of new solar in California.

The US$1.2 billion investment created hundreds of construction jobs and was a significant boost for the Golden State meeting its renewable energy goals.

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

Featuring more than 4 million solar panels with trackers and spanning more than 1,618 hectares, the projects combined generate enough clean electricity to power more than 181,000 homes in the Southern California Edison catchment area.

According to NextEra, some of the energy will help healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente become ‘carbon net positive’ under a 20-year agreement.

“The completion of these projects is further proof that America's shift toward clean, renewable energy is underway,” said Bureau of Land Management director Neil Kornze. “In fact, we've seen a threefold increase in wind and a fivefold increase in solar power generation during this Administration. That's a foundation for the future that we should all be proud of.”

“California, and Riverside County in particular, is fortunate to have one of the best solar resources in the country,” said Riverside County supervisor John J. Benoit. “These projects are evidence of what we can do when we build strong partnerships to develop renewable energy, protect the environment and create good jobs and long-term benefits for our communities.”

16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

November 28, 2025
The EBRD will invest in a 531MW solar PV portfolio in Romania from Israeli renewables company Nofar Energy.
November 28, 2025
The European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked a patent for a key solar cell manufacturing process, which has been hailed as “good news” for European solar PV manufacturing.
Premium
November 27, 2025
Prateek Tare tells PV Tech Premium how Distributed Energy Infrastructure transformed a Superfund site into the Acton PV-plus-storage project.
November 27, 2025
The World Bank will invest in a huge 4GW, 5.12GWh solar-plus-storage complex in Malaysia, which will form part of a pan-Southeast Asian power grid initiative.
November 27, 2025
The Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) and the Copper Mark have signed an agreement to pursue “responsible production and sourcing of copper across the solar energy value chain”.
November 27, 2025
RWE Clean Energy has commissioned the 200MW Stoneridge Solar PV project in Texas, which is co-located with a 100MW/200MWh BESS.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Upcoming Webinars
December 4, 2025
2pm GMT / 3pm CET
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
April 15, 2026
Milan, Italy