# Desert Sunlight Solar Farm

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is a 550-megawatt (MW$_{AC}$) photovoltaic power station approximately six miles north of Desert Center, California, United States, in the Mojave Desert. It was made by the US thin-film manufacturer First Solar. It has the same 550 MW installed capacity as the Topaz Solar Farm in the Carrizo Plain region of Central California, making both of them tied for the second largest completed solar plants by installed capacity as of fall 2015.

## Project details

The project was built on over 6 square miles (16 km$^2$) of creosote bush-dominated desert habitat near Desert Center next to Joshua Tree National Park. Construction began in September 2011 and final completion was in January 2015.
A 230 MW and 920 MWh (4-hour) battery storage power station was added in 2022.

## Electricity production

Total Facility Generation (Annual Sum from Both Units Below) :
| Year | Total Annual MW·h |
| 2013 | 104,301 |
| 2014 | 1,020,905 |
| 2015 | 1,286,763 |
| 2016 | 1,346,282 |
| 2017 | 1,321,129 |
| 2018 | 1,344,841 |
| Average (2015–2018) | 1,324,754 |
Generation (MW·h) of Desert Sunlight 250, LLC :
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
| 2013 | | | | | | | | | | | 12,877 | 15,657 | 28,534 |
| 2014 | 21,773 | 27,207 | 34,901 | 41,461 | 39,400 | 43,829 | 51,572 | 39,497 | 46,360 | 46,364 | 46,793 | 34,333 | 473,490 |
| 2015 | 40,399 | 47,894 | 56,371 | 59,569 | 60,775 | 57,715 | 58,348 | 58,787 | 39,097 | 47,562 | 45,791 | 41,633 | 613,941 |
| 2016 | 39,151 | 50,933 | 55,135 | 54,198 | 63,118 | 59,008 | 61,051 | 57,526 | 53,062 | 50,947 | 43,476 | 36,137 | 623,742 |
| 2017 | 25,225 | 28,175 | 52,539 | 55,354 | 69,598 | 75,424 | 68,750 | 63,536 | 59,329 | 54,655 | 33,586 | 32,031 | 618,201 |
| 2018 | 28,722 | 40,501 | 46,310 | 57,894 | 69,784 | 75,188 | 64,990 | 65,442 | 61,950 | 48,809 | 33,573 | 26,709 | 619,921 |
Generation (MW·h) of Desert Sunlight 300, LLC :
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
| 2013 | | | | | | | | 10,015 | | | 32,709 | 33,043 | 75,767 |
| 2014 | 32,312 | 34,615 | 44,998 | 45,876 | 43,733 | 47,205 | 45,698 | 44,642 | 66,531 | 51,571 | 52,960 | 37,274 | 547,415 |
| 2015 | 45,802 | 52,966 | 60,742 | 64,541 | 61,367 | 63,147 | 63,620 | 63,517 | 44,398 | 53,467 | 51,543 | 47,712 | 672,822 |
| 2016 | 44,903 | 58,492 | 61,875 | 60,223 | 74,220 | 70,241 | 72,661 | 67,907 | 61,623 | 58,041 | 50,542 | 41,812 | 722,540 |
| 2017 | 28,682 | 32,036 | 59,740 | 62,940 | 79,137 | 85,761 | 78,172 | 72,243 | 67,460 | 62,146 | 38,189 | 36,421 | 702,928 |
| 2018 | 33,645 | 47,361 | 54,154 | 67,699 | 81,604 | 87,922 | 75,998 | 76,527 | 72,443 | 57,076 | 39,259 | 31,232 | 724,920 |

## Environmental issues

In 2012 the National Parks Conservation Association issued a report identifying three desert solar power plants sited within five miles of National Parks in the California Desert as projects that they suggest should not have been approved in their locations, including the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm. The NPCA report cites damage and impact to visual resources, and impacts on critical desert species.