Battery storage of 173.7 MW has entered commercial operation at the Lockhart Solar and Storage project of Terra-Gen, a US-based renewable energy producer, in San Bernardino County, California. The $950 million complex, in which the batteries are paired with 365 MW of solar generation, can meet the annual needs of about 350,000 homes and businesses.
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Terra-Gen, a US-based producer of renewable energy that is jointly owned by Masdar and Igneo Infrastructure Partners, has brought its Lockhart Solar and Storage project in San Bernardino County, California, United States, into commercial operation. The $950 million complex was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Hinkley site, which was attended by employees, local and state officials, lenders, partners and customers.
Storage makes up a large part of the plant. Its 248 battery enclosures provide 173.7 MW of capacity, and they are paired with 365 MW of solar generation, which brings the total to 538.7 MW. According to the company, the complex can generate enough electricity to meet the annual needs of about 350,000 homes and businesses.
Today is about recognizing the people and partnerships that brought Lockhart to life and celebrating what this project means for the region.
John O’Connor, chief executive officer at Terra-Gen. “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. At the scale of our Lockhart facility, that combination can make a meaningful difference for California’s growing electricity needs.”
The engineering and construction work took four years, and more than 1,000 jobs were created on site, with 880,000 hours worked. Cupertino Electric served as the balance-of-plant engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, while EPC Services was the high-voltage contractor. Over its operating life, the facility is expected to yield more than $40 million in property tax revenue.
Its output has been contracted through a combination of offtake agreements with corporate buyers and long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with load-serving entities in California. Lockhart has joined a Terra-Gen portfolio of 4.4 GW of wind, solar and storage, which includes 5.6 GWh of energy storage at 34 sites, most of them in California and Texas.
Batteries of this kind have been changing the California market. An analysis by SEIA found that summer wholesale prices in California were 51% lower in 2026 than in 2021, and it credited much of that fall to solar and storage. In the San Diego region, Arevon brought its 300 MW/1,200 MWh Nighthawk BESS into operation in August.