Lone Valley Solar Park has an installed capacity of 30.34 megawatts (MW) — enough to power approximately 9,000 average California homes with clean energy each year.
Lone Valley Solar Park yields significant economic benefits to the community in the form of payments to landowners, local spending, and annual community investment.
Lone Valley represents a capital investment of approximately $56 million and has dispersed $278,000 in cumulative payments to local governments through 2018. The project created 170 full-time equivalent jobs during construction as well as one permanent job. Through 2018, approximately $23.8 million has been spent within 50 miles of the solar park.
Lone Valley Solar Park saves more than 53 million gallons of water each year and displaces carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants, a major contributor to climate change. Solar energy also enhances air quality by helping to mitigate the health effects of harmful air pollutants.
Lone Valley Solar Park is compatible with other land uses and provides a stable form of income to local landowners. More than $1.9 million has been paid to the solar park’s landowners through 2018. These supportive landowners participate in long-term lease agreements.
Lone Valley Solar Park consists of more than 120,000 photovoltaic solar panels mounted on a single-axis tracking system for a combined output of 30.34 MW. Photovoltaic solar cells have no moving parts and convert sunlight directly into electricity via the photoelectric effect. This direct-current electricity is then collected, transformed into alternating-current, and finally enters the electrical grid through a substation after being converted to the proper voltage.