ContourGlobal broke ground on Project Sterling, a 509 MWp / 450 MWac solar facility paired with 360 MW / 1.4 GWh of battery energy storage in Mohave County, Arizona.
The developer will deliver approximately 90% of the hybrid facility’s expected output to Tesla under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). Covering more than 1 TWh of clean electricity per year, the deal represents one of the largest corporate solar-plus-storage PPAs ever signed for a single hybrid renewable plant in the U.S., and stands as ContourGlobal’s largest PPA to date.
The project utilizes an Equity Bridge Loan secured with a syndicate of leading international banks to support its financing structure during the construction phase.
“Our teams engineered the project around the specific needs of our customer, enabling it to deliver reliable clean power for up to 16 hours a day,” said Antonio Cammisecra, President & CEO of ContourGlobal. “Today’s ceremony marks the visible beginning of our partnership with Mohave County, the State of Arizona and our customer, Tesla.”
The solar-plus-storage array will allow ContourGlobal to expand its U.S. clean energy footprint, bringing its domestic portfolio to 2.4 GW of thermal, renewable, and storage capacity operating or under construction. Project Sterling represents the company’s largest renewable asset worldwide.
ContourGlobal will develop, own, and operate the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2028. Once active, the project is expected to produce more than 1.1 TWh of clean electricity annually, equivalent to meeting the yearly residential electricity demand of a city of 100,000 to 120,000 people. Laid out across the Mojave Desert, the project’s footprint spans more than 2,000 acres, utilizing more than 760,000 solar modules and over 300 battery storage containers.
The hybrid project will feature advanced lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology equipped with liquid cooling and integrated fire protection. To access the site, located off a historic stretch of Route 66 between Topock and Kingman, the company is constructing Polaris Road, a new 5.2-mile corridor. Construction will create an average of approximately 400 local jobs.
The partnership reinforces Arizona’s role in regional grid reliability, benefiting from the Western States power interconnection with support from the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).
Arizona has established itself as a premier destination for solar development, with 13,198 MWdc installed across the state. According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar accounts for 18.23% of the state’s total electricity generation, which is enough to power close to 2 million homes, while supporting 9,768 clean energy jobs and over $24.2 billion in total capital investments. Driven by massive hybrid facilities like Project Sterling, the market is poised to accelerate rapidly, with SEIA projecting another 18,435 MW of solar capacity expansion over the next five years
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