Online as of June 19th, 2015, the Solar Star I and II power plants in Kern and Los Angeles Counties California deliver an estimated energy capacity to power 255,000 homes and are some of the largest solar operations in the country and world. The Solar Star power plant has a maximum capacity of 579 MW, took about three years to construct, and created approximately 650 construction jobs for 3 years. The article states that “…more than 570,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be avoided annually – the equivalent of removing over 2 million cars form the road over 20 years.” An interesting aspect of construction is that each individual MW of energy is contained in a pre fabricated unit that can be shipped easily and replaced without major disruption of the other groups of cells. The designers also claim this architecture will use less water compared to previous designs, up to 90% less. So far it has been seen as a big positive for the local communities now relying on the created energy. Advantaging the natural desert landscape with a clear sky and frequent days of high sun intensity is common in this area. Several other operations of solar plants are already employed in the area.
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/06/26/largest-solar-plant-planet-earth-solar-star-comes-online/