Arevon Energy announced on Thursday it has broken ground on their latest project in California utilizing Tesla’s Megapack battery energy storage system. The Vikings Energy Farm is one of the first solar peaker plants in the US.
The project, located in Holtville just north of the California/Mexico border in the Imperial Valley, will feature a unique 1:1 configuration of 137MWac of First Solar thin film photovoltaic solar modules paired with 150MW/600MWh of Tesla Megapacks. This configuration will allow Arevon to shift daytime solar production to late afternoon and evening hours, providing on-peak energy whenever necessary.
In a press release announcing the start of construction no timeline was given for when the Vikings Energy Farm will be operational, but once it is Arevon expects it to power tens of thousands of homes.
The Vikings Energy Farm is contracted to provide San Diego Community Power with resource adequacy and renewable energy, allowing the electric generation service provider to meet peak summer demand and support grid reliability.
“Arevon is proud to bring the Vikings Energy Farm to Imperial Valley. We’re especially excited about the unique design, which provides a storage component that is as powerful as our ability to generate solar energy. This unique design, an extension of our on-going commitment to leading-edge technologies, will allow the facility to provide energy whenever necessary, helping to stabilize the grid, and benefiting everyone in this community, and across the state of California,” said Justin Johnson, Arevon’s chief operating officer.
Arevon is no stranger to Tesla and its Megapack system. The company has built the Arevon Townsite Solar and Storage facility in Nevada which powers over 60,000 homes in the region. Arevon has also installed a 400 MWh system consisting of 142 Tesla Megapacks in Oxnard, California.
In 2021 the company agreed to purchase 2GW/6GWh of Megapack systems from Tesla, many of which will be used at the Vikings Energy Farm.
