Mayor Karen Bass unveiled the Eland Solar-plus-Storage Center, one of the nation's largest solar and battery energy storage systems, poised to revolutionize Los Angeles's energy landscape by powering over 266,000 homes annually and propelling the city towards its goal of 100% clean energy by 2035, according to a statement released today.
The Eland project, comprising two phases, Eland 1 and Eland 2, is expected to meet 7% of the city's energy demand, tipping L.A.'s clean energy share over 60% by the year's end; Mayor Bass remarked on this achievement saying, "This is L.A.’s clean energy future – I want to thank LADWP, Arevon, and all of the partners who made today possible," in a statement obtained by the mayor's office. Meanwhile, Janisse Quiñones of LADWP highlighted the endeavor's intrinsic values, underscoring its importance in providing scale, energy storage, reliability, and innovation, all at unprecedented low costs for solar and storage, ensuring LADWP customers would see more affordable electricity bills.
Support from various sectors emphasized the project's financial sensibility and long-term benefits, as noted by Jonathan Parfrey of Climate Resolve in an interview when reminiscing about L.A.'s initial foray into renewables, stating, "Flash forward to today – and solar power is now the right thing to do economically, producing electricity at a cost lower than that of coal, natural gas and nuclear power." Victor Sanchez from the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy also echoed this sentiment, highlighting the dual advantages of tackling climate change and generating sustainable jobs through LADWP's solar investments.
Stuart Waldman, President of VICA, lauded the project for perfectly balancing energy reliability and cost reduction while generating employment without placing undue burdens on businesses or residents, adding that Eland represents the types of infrastructure investments that the city needs. With Phase 1 energized last December and the completion of Phase 2 now, the combine two facilities, which capture 400 megawatts of solar energy and can store up to 1,200 megawatt-hours of energy, will help L.A. surpass its clean energy targets, and save LADWP ratepayers hundreds of millions over the 25-year term of the contract, the project, costing an average of 4 cents per kilowatt-hour for generation and storage, constitutes LADWP's first utility-scale solar and battery integrated project; the official completion of Eland Solar-plus-Storage Center marks a significant notch in the city's clean energy belt, and it's strategically situated within the Barren Ridge renewable energy corridor, a nexus for transmitting solar and wind energy from Mojave to Los Angeles.
