SunPower Corp., together with NRG Energy and community leaders, have officially marked the start of construction at the 250 MW California Valley Solar Ranch.
Situated in San Luis Obispo, California, the plant is one of the first and largest central station solar power plants in the world.
The utility-scale solar project is creating 350 construction jobs, driving $315 million into the local economy and generating clean, renewable electricity to PG&E for 100,000 homes.
The first 25 MW is expected to go online in the spring of 2012.
SunPower first announced the project more than three years ago, and NRG Energy completed the acquisition of the project on September 30.
Once built, the California Valley Solar Ranch will contribute significantly to California’s desired 33 percent renewable portfolio standard.
The project will also see 12,000 acres of land in and around the Carrizo Plain protected and conserved, SunPower said.
