EDPR NA added that it is “actively exploring” the possibility of incorporating agrivoltaics – the practice of using land for the dual purposes of solar generation and farming – at the site, particularly looking at sheep grazing.

The developer – a subsidiary of Portuguese utility EDP Renewables – is currently engaged in a module supply deal with US cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film module manufacturer First Solar, signed in April 2023. The 1.8GW deal was expected to support EDPR NA’s US solar projects through 2026.

“California remains a priority state for EDPR NA’s development efforts, and we are pleased to finalise this significant solar-plus-storage project in The Golden State,” said Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America. “Scarlet I will be a benchmark project as we look to develop additional hybrid multi-technology renewable projects across our portfolio and contribute further to grid resiliency.”

According to data from a PV Tech Premium report earlier this year, Fresno County has the longest interconnection queue for renewable energy of any county in the US. As a whole, California has around 440GW of capacity in its interconnection queue, more than half of which is energy storage.

EDPR NA already has 248MW of operating renewable energy assets in California, notably the Lone Valley PV project in San Bernadino County. 

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