Solar · Analysis

Eland Solar and Storage, and the two-cent price that reset LA's desert deals

A 2019 LADWP contract in Kern County set a near two-cent solar price and made paired storage the default. Here is what that did, and what it did not.

BY THE RENEWABLE ENERGY LA EDITORS · FILED OCTOBER 21, 2026 · 6 MIN READ ·

How a paired solar-and-storage price works

A power purchase agreement (a long contract where a utility agrees to buy electricity at a set price for years) is the quiet machinery behind most large clean-energy projects. Eland's agreement pairs two prices: one for solar energy as it is generated, and a separate adder for storage, meaning the battery that holds afternoon sun to release after sundown. The solar figure sat near two cents per kilowatt-hour, roughly, per LADWP board materials from 2019.

What made Eland matter was not only the headline number. By pricing the battery into the same deal, the contract treated storage as part of the product rather than an extra bolted on later. That is the shift this desk watches: on the Mojave edge, paired storage became the default expectation for a new desert contract, not a premium feature a utility might skip to save money.

What the two cents did, and what it did not

Be careful with the number itself. About two cents per kilowatt-hour describes the contracted solar price in 2019 dollars under specific terms, not the all-in cost of delivered, firmed power once the storage adder, transmission, and losses are counted. The honest version is that the combined price was low for its time, on the order of the cheapest paired deals then signed, and that is how LADWP and the developer described it. Whether it still looks cheap depends on how later contracts and equipment costs moved, which is genuinely unsettled.

The build has also come in phases, which matters for anyone expecting the full plant to show up at once. Eland was planned at roughly 400 megawatts of solar with several hundred megawatts of battery storage across its phases, per the developer's project page, and phased construction means the capacity and the storage arrive on a schedule that can slip. At last public report the first phase was the one carrying the project into service; the dates are worth confirming against current filings rather than trusting a figure from a 2019 announcement.

Who signed, and where the power lands

Three names do the work here. LADWP, the municipal utility that most of Los Angeles buys from, is the buyer; its board, not a state commission, approved the contract, which is why the paper trail runs through board agendas rather than the California Public Utilities Commission. The developer, now operating as Avantus (formerly 8minute Solar Energy), built and runs the plant. The California Independent System Operator, the nonprofit that runs most of the state grid, handles how Eland's power connects and flows toward the basin.

For a ratepayer, the useful part of that map is accountability. Because LADWP answers to a city board, the meetings and files are local and public, and a resident can read the same agenda the commissioners did. Because CAISO runs the interconnection, the project's grid status sits in a public queue that anyone can look up, which is the best place to check whether desert megawatts are actually reaching the lines that feed your neighborhood.

Worth watching this month

1. LADWP board agendas, posted before each meeting, are the place to watch for any new or amended desert solar-and-storage contracts, most of which are routine.

2. The CAISO interconnection queue is worth a periodic check to confirm Eland's phases show as in service rather than pending, a detail that moves without fanfare.

3. The California Energy Commission tracks large solar and storage projects statewide, and its project lists can confirm capacity figures that old announcements tend to round.

4. Watch for LADWP power-content and rate updates, which arrive slowly and are the closest thing to seeing a desert deal land on your own bill.

5. Any schedule note from the developer on later-phase storage is worth reading skeptically, since phased construction dates are the first thing to slip.

Where this dispatch reads

LADWP, Board of Water and Power Commissioners agendas and files, www.ladwp.com, The buyer's public board record, where the Eland contract and later amendments are filed.
California Independent System Operator, interconnection queue, www.caiso.com, The state grid operator's public list, showing how and whether Eland's phases are connected.
California Energy Commission, www.energy.ca.gov, State agency that tracks large solar and storage projects and their capacities.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity data, www.eia.gov/electricity, Federal source for plant-level generation and capacity figures to check rounded numbers.
Avantus (formerly 8minute Solar Energy), project page, www.avantus.com, The developer's own description of Eland's phases, capacity, and storage.

Questions readers have asked

Does the two-cent price lower my bill directly?

No. It is a wholesale contract price, not a line on your statement. Its effect shows up slowly, in what the utility pays for new supply, which helps hold rates steadier over years.

Is Eland fully built?

It was planned and built in phases. At last public report the early phase carried it into service. Check current LADWP or CAISO filings for the latest on later phases, since dates can slip.

Why does LADWP, not the state, approve this?

LADWP is a municipal utility governed by a city-appointed board. Its contracts go through that board, not the California Public Utilities Commission, so the public record sits in board agendas.

Where does Eland's power actually go?

It connects to the state grid run by the California ISO and flows toward the Los Angeles basin. It is not a direct line to any one home, but it adds to the supply LADWP draws from.