The California Department of Water Resources and developer Calpine have brought the 105 MW Pastoria Solar Project online in Arvin, marking the largest renewable energy procurement in the history of the State Water Project.
Situated in Kern County near the foot of the Tehachapi Mountains, the facility utilizes approximately 226,000 solar panels equipped with tracking technology to follow the sun’s path.
The project is dedicated to powering the Edmonston Pumping Plant, tasked with the energy-intensive process of lifting water nearly 2,000 feet over the mountain range to supply Southern California. The facility houses 14 massive centrifugal pumps, each rated at 80,000 horsepower. Every individual motor-pump unit is approximately 65 feet tall and weighs 420 tons. When all 14 units are running, the plant consumes up to 840 MW of electricity, making it the single largest consumer of power in the state of California.
By securing a dedicated renewable source, state officials aim to insulate water delivery costs from the volatile broader energy market, which is seeing increased price pressure from the rapid expansion of AI data centers.
The project is a major component of the department’s legally mandated transition toward carbon neutrality by 2035. The site functions as a multi-resource energy campus, integrating the new solar capacity with an existing 750 MW natural gas facility and a forthcoming 80 MW battery storage system known as the Pastoria Power Bank.
Labor representatives from the California State Building and Construction Trades Council noted the project was completed using union labor, further tying the state’s climate goals to local economic development.
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