Longroad Energy’s Sun Pond solar and storage project in Maricopa County, Arizona, US, has commenced commercial operations.

The facility includes a 111MW-direct current (MWdc) solar component and an 85MW-alternating current (MWac)/340MW-hour (MWh) storage component.

It is part of the broader Longroad Sun Streams Complex, which combines four projects totalling nearly 1.6GW of capacity.

Contracts via power purchase agreements have been secured with Ava Community Energy and San José Clean Energy for the facility's output.

Longroad Energy chief investment officer and co-founder Charles Spiliotis said: “With Sun Pond now operational, Longroad is pleased to be expanding access to renewable energy for customers in the greater Bay Area.

“Sun Pond’s battery storage system adds firm, flexible capacity – ensuring low-cost, clean power is available when the grid needs it most.”

Sun Pond is expected to generate enough electricity annually to power nearly 35,000 US homes.

Ava Community Energy is a public power provider serving more than two million residents and businesses in Alameda and San Joaquin Counties in California. Meanwhile, San José Clean Energy caters to businesses and homes in the City of San José in Santa Clara County.

The project is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 145,000t each year, equating to removing nearly 34,000 petrol-powered vehicles from use.

Construction was managed by McCarthy Building Companies, which employed more than 300 workers at its peak. Operations and maintenance will be managed by NovaSource Power Services and Longroad Energy's affiliate, Longroad Energy Services.

The project incorporates First Solar’s photovoltaic modules, smart trackers from Nextpower and Sungrow solar inverters, while using the Gridstack energy storage system provided by Fluence.

Longroad Energy indicated that the Sun Streams Complex brings more than $300m in benefits to Arizona communities through long-term leases and tax contributions.