Terra-Gen Completes $950M, 538.7-MW Lockhart Solar-Storage Complex

• Terra-Gen marked completion of its $950 million, 538.7-MW Lockhart solar and storage complex in Hinkley, California.
• The site pairs 365 MW of First Solar modules with 173.7 MW / 695 MWh of batteries built in two phases.
• Lockhart IV was the final phase; Terra-Gen reported over 15 GW in development in July.

Terra-Gen has completed its $950 million Lockhart Solar and Storage complex near Hinkley in San Bernardino County, California, with 365 MW of utility-scale solar and 173.7 MW of battery storage in commercial operation. The company marked the 538.7-MW site with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, it said in a statement on Nov. 10.

The complex was built in phases. Lockhart I and II added 85 MW and 75 MW of solar in 2023, and a 45-MW / 180-MWh battery followed in 2024. A second battery of 128.7 MW / 515 MWh entered service in January, with its resource adequacy capacity contracted to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. under two long-term agreements. The 125-MW Lockhart III and the 80-MW Lockhart IV solar phases came online in May and July.

First Solar supplied the modules and Nextpower the trackers. Cupertino Electric was the balance-of-plant EPC contractor, and EPC Services handled the high-voltage work. The output goes to corporate buyers and, under long-term power purchase agreements, to California load-serving entities. Terra-Gen did not name them.

California's battery fleet reached 21,112 MW in August, according to the California Energy Commission, with nearly 16,000 MW from 310 utility-scale systems inside the state.

The complex in numbers

• 538.7 MW in total: 365 MW of solar and 173.7 MW of batteries housed in 248 enclosures.
• 695 MWh of storage, about four hours at full output (list.solar calculation from Terra-Gen's 180-MWh and 515-MWh phases).
• $1.76 million per MW of combined solar and battery capacity (list.solar calculation).
• 2.1 MW of solar for every 1 MW of battery power (list.solar calculation).
• 0.8%: Lockhart's share of California's 21,112-MW battery fleet (list.solar calculation).
• 925,000+ solar modules on a site of about 4,000 acres of private land.
• $40 million+ in expected property tax over the operating life, after construction created more than 1,000 on-site jobs and 880,000 work hours.

Terra-Gen, owned by Masdar and Igneo Infrastructure Partners, reports a gross operating portfolio of 4.4 GW. That includes 5.6 GWh of storage across 34 sites, mostly in California and Texas.

"Solar is one of the most economical sources of new electricity, and storage extends its value by making that energy available when it's needed most," Chief Executive Officer John O'Connor said.

Lockhart IV was the final phase of the complex. In July, Terra-Gen said it had more than 15 GW of projects in its development pipeline.