What are the largest solar farms?

Right now, solar farms are enjoying their time in the sun — no pun intended. The solar industry is building ever-bigger solar   Adani Gujarat  farms thanks to the improved economics of solar energy generation, and the desire of governments to switch to renewable energy to avoid climate change.

The biggest solar farm in the United States 

Solar Star in Kern and LA Counties, California is currently the largest solar farm in the US. It's been the biggest one in the country since its completion back in 2015.

It has an installed capacity to produce 579 MW energy, which is enough to power over 250,000 homes or about 142 football fields. It comprises 1.7 million separate solar panels, which cover a total area of 3,200 acres of land. 

While the Solar Star was also the biggest solar farm in the world when it launched, it has long been superseded by bigger solar farms in other parts of the world. It is also set to be eclipsed by a solar farm under construction here in the US — the Gemini solar farm.

An aerial shot of the Solar Star solar farm

Solar Star is located less an hour-and-a-half’s drive from Los Angeles and provides electricity to the Southern California Edison power grid. Image source: PVTech 

Gemini solar farm - set to be the biggest in the US 

The Gemini Solar Farm is a $1 billion project currently under construction in the Moapa desert, outside Las Vegas. 

The project will take advantage of the plentiful Nevada sunshine to generate 690 MW of electricity, which is enough to power 260,000 homes. It will cover an area of 7,100 acres, or as much as 5,370 football fields 

It also includes large solar batteries that can store 1,400 MWh of energy to help provide power after dark, when the power is needed most. 

Once completed, it will become the largest solar farm in the US - but still way smaller than the biggest solar farm. Unfortunately, there’s nothing to see just yet - construction is scheduled to commence in 2021.  

As of July 2020, the largest solar farm in the world is Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan desert region of India. 

The solar farm covers a mammoth 10,000 acres. It has an energy generating capacity of 2,245 MW, or 2.2 gigawatts. It is nearly four times the capacity of America’s current biggest solar farm, Solar Star. 

An aerial shot of the Bhadla Solar Park in India

The 2.2 GW Bhadla Solar Park is on the fringes of the Thar Desert in India; temperatures there go up to 126 degrees Fahrenheit.

The future of solar farms 

Moving forward, community solar projects, utility-scale solar projects and rooftop solar will all be part of the renewable energy solution providing clean energy around the US and replacing fossil fuel power. 

Large-scale solar will continue to get cheaper as developers of solar farms find more ways to reduce financing costs and equipment costs keep coming down. Expect to see many more solar farms, and even bigger ones, in the near future.