Sheep Creek Solar Farm: Boosting California’s Renewable Energy Goals for 2045
The Sheep Creek Community Solar Farm, a 7,000-panel solar farm spanning over 20 acres of high desert near Adelanto, is designed to produce sufficient clean energy to power approximately 890 homes. This project aims to broaden the reach of solar power to Southern California Edison (SCE) customers who have previously been unable to tap into the burgeoning solar power market.
Sheep Creek is SCE’s inaugural community solar project under California’s Enhanced Community Renewables program. This program enables utility customers to collaborate directly with developers to subscribe to local renewable energy projects. It is specifically designed to broaden solar energy access for customers who do not own their property, cannot afford the initial cost of solar installation, or have a roof that is in poor condition or shaded.
Eduyng Castano, SCE senior manager of Customer Generation Programs, stated that the launch of the Sheep Creek Community Solar Farm, which has been in development for over three years, is a significant milestone. SCE is the first among the three investor-owned utilities to bring an Enhanced Community Renewables project online as part of an initiative to broaden renewable energy access for those who cannot obtain it.
The Community Renewables Program allows subscribers to collaborate directly with California solar developers to participate in a local renewable energy project. SCE purchases the renewable energy produced by the solar farm, and the developer provides SCE with information to give the subscriber a bill credit based on the portion of the project’s output the subscriber uses.
The 3.8 MWdc project, developed and managed by renewable energy companies Catalyze and Ampion, currently has 241 subscribers. Jared Haines, CEO of Catalyze, expressed hope that Sheep Creek could serve as a model for other statewide projects and accelerate the implementation of more community solar projects to help achieve the goal of ensuring widespread availability of renewable energy.
Community solar works as follows:
Sheep Creek is SCE’s inaugural community solar project under California’s Enhanced Community Renewables program. This program enables utility customers to collaborate directly with developers to subscribe to local renewable energy projects. It is specifically designed to broaden solar energy access for customers who do not own their property, cannot afford the initial cost of solar installation, or have a roof that is in poor condition or shaded.
Eduyng Castano, SCE senior manager of Customer Generation Programs, stated that the launch of the Sheep Creek Community Solar Farm, which has been in development for over three years, is a significant milestone. SCE is the first among the three investor-owned utilities to bring an Enhanced Community Renewables project online as part of an initiative to broaden renewable energy access for those who cannot obtain it.
The Community Renewables Program allows subscribers to collaborate directly with California solar developers to participate in a local renewable energy project. SCE purchases the renewable energy produced by the solar farm, and the developer provides SCE with information to give the subscriber a bill credit based on the portion of the project’s output the subscriber uses.
The 3.8 MWdc project, developed and managed by renewable energy companies Catalyze and Ampion, currently has 241 subscribers. Jared Haines, CEO of Catalyze, expressed hope that Sheep Creek could serve as a model for other statewide projects and accelerate the implementation of more community solar projects to help achieve the goal of ensuring widespread availability of renewable energy.
Community solar works as follows:
- Subscribers sign up with Ampion to receive solar energy.
- SCE purchases solar energy from Ampion on behalf of the subscriber.
- Subscribers receive a bill from Ampion for their portion of used solar energy.
- Ampion provides information so SCE can credit the subscriber’s bill.
The credit is based on the portion of the project’s solar energy output used by the subscriber (Subscribers who enroll in the program will start receiving an SCE bill credit within 60 days of enrollment).
SCE is actively pursuing programs and policies that support solar energy use and drive communities towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.
The renewable energy generated by the Sheep Creek Community Solar Farm will contribute to California’s portfolio of renewable energy resources and aid in achieving the state’s objective of utilizing 100% renewable energy by 2045.
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