ContourGlobal has commenced construction on Project Sterling, a combined solar and battery storage facility in Mohave County, Arizona, US.
The project, located around 20 miles north of Lake Havasu City, will feature 509MW-peak (MWp)/450MW-alternating current of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, alongside 360MW/1.4GW-hours (GWh) of battery storage technology.
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Work is expected to continue through 2028, with an estimated average workforce of 400 people over the construction period.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place in Topock and brought together company executives, representatives from Arizona state and local government, industry partners and the local community.
Project Sterling will extend across more than 2,000 acres in the Mojave Desert. The facility is designed to supply clean energy for up to 16 hours each day by coupling solar generation with large-scale battery storage.
Construction will involve local teams undertaking civil work, road building and site logistics. They will install more than 760,000 solar panels and in excess of 300 battery containers equipped with lithium iron phosphate technology and integrated safety systems.
The site will be accessed by Polaris Road, a newly constructed 8.4km route linking Route 66 to the development.
Once operational, the plant is expected to generate more than 1.1TW-hours (TWh) of electricity per year, enough to meet the average residential needs of a city with 100,000–120,000 inhabitants.
The output will be supplied under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tesla, which covers around 90% of expected production.
ContourGlobal describes this as the company’s largest renewable asset and one of the largest corporate solar-plus-storage PPAs for a single site in the US.
ContourGlobal president and CEO Antonio Cammisecra said: “Today’s ceremony marks the visible beginning of our partnership with Mohave County, the State of Arizona and our customer, Tesla.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone with them and with the people who will now build this plant safely, with respect for the local community and the land of the Mojave Desert.”
Financing for Project Sterling includes an equity bridge loan arranged by a syndicate of international banks.
ContourGlobal’s US portfolio now stands at 2.4GW in operation or under construction, including both renewables and thermal generation assets across several states.
In May 2026, ContourGlobal began operations at its Victor Jara hybrid power plant in Tarapacá, Chile, which includes a 231MWp solar PV facility paired with a 1.3GWh battery storage system.
