Solar Star is a 579-megawatt (watt-peak AC) photovoltaic power station near Rosamond, California, United States, that is operated and maintained by SunPower Services. When completed in June 2015, it was the world's largest solar farm in terms of installed capacity, using 1.7 million solar panels, made by SunPower and spread over .
Comparison to similar plants
Compared to other photovoltaic plants of similar size, Solar Star uses a smaller number (1.7 million) of large form-factor, high-wattage, high-efficiency, higher cost crystalline silicon modules, mounted on single axis trackers. In contrast, the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and the Topaz Solar Farm (550 MW each) use a larger number (roughly 9 million) of smaller form-factor, lower wattage, lower efficiency, lower cost thin-film CdTe photovoltaic modules, mounted on fixed-tilt arrays and spread over a larger land area. Both approaches appear commercially viable.
There are a number of other solar photovoltaic plants nearby:
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Antelope Valley Solar Ranch (266 MW from 3.8 million thin film panels)
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Alpine Solar (66 MW AC, thin film panels)
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Catalina Solar Project (60 MW, thin film panels)
Electricity production
Solar Star 1's nameplate capacities are 398 MW
dc and 314 MW
ac.
+Generation (MW·h) of Solar Star 1 |
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Solar Star 2's nameplate capacities are 350 MWdc and 266 MWac.
+Generation (MW·h) of Solar Star 2 |
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See also
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List of photovoltaic power stations
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Solar power in California
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Tejon Ranch Radar Cross Section Facility
External links
