CIM Group Breaks Ground on First Phase of 2.7GW Solar Project

Westlands Solar Park is located in a designated Opportunity Zone in California’s San Joaquin Valley in western Fresno and Kings counties.

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One of North America’s largest permitted solar parks has broken ground in California. The master-planned energy park, dubbed Westlands Solar Park, will spread across more than 20,000 acres in San Joaquin Valley in western Fresno and Kings counties.

The owner and developer of the facility—which is said to grow in excess of 2.7 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity—is CIM Group, which will handle the project in multiple phases. Once complete, it is estimated to provide clean energy to more than 1.2 million households. The first phase is named Aquamarine, a 250-megawatt solar photovoltaic farm.

This first phase has received all entitlement and conditional use approvals following a full environmental impact review, with minimal impacts on prime farmland, environmentally protected species and habitat. Westlands Solar Park is located in a designated Opportunity Zone.

Furthermore, CIM has signed a power purchase agreement with Valley Clean Energy Alliance for 50 megawatts of capacity. The electricity provider is governed locally and serves the cities of Davis and Woodland and unincorporated portions of Yolo County. Initial delivery is slated for late 2021.