California has 865 solar farms in the EIA Form 860 database, with a combined installed capacity of 22,394 MW. Of those, 117 plants are utility-scale (50 MW or larger), including 33 mega-projects of 200 MW or more. The largest single facility is Topaz Solar Farm in Santa Margarita, San Luis Obispo County — a 586 MW plant operated by Topaz Solar Farms LLC.

Use the interactive California solar farms map below to explore every plant, color-coded by technology type and sized by capacity. Click any solar farm for its name, operator, capacity (MW), technology, and location — or view the full US solar farms interactive map to compare California to every other state.

California Solar Farms by the Numbers

• 865 total solar farms in California (EIA Form 860, latest reporting period)
• 22,394 MW total installed solar capacity
• 4,764 MW co-located battery storage capacity
• 117 utility-scale plants (50 MW or larger)
• 33 mega-projects rated 200 MW or larger
• 526 small / community-scale plants (under 5 MW)

California Solar Farms by Technology Type

• 774 Solar Photovoltaic (PV) — standard panel installations, the dominant technology nationwide
• 83 Solar PV with Battery Storage — newer hybrid plants that pair panels with on-site batteries to store excess generation
• 5 Solar Thermal (CSP) — concentrated solar plants that use mirrors to heat a working fluid (rare; limited to high-DNI desert states)
• 3 Solar Hybrid — co-located with another generation source (natural gas, wind, biomass, etc.)

The 15 Largest Solar Farms in California

The largest solar farm in California by installed capacity is Topaz Solar Farm at 586 MW. The 15 largest California solar farms from the latest EIA filing:

Top Solar Operators in California

Five operators account for the largest share of solar generation in California:

• Southern Power Co — 13 plants, 1,256 MW total
• MN8 Energy LLC — 65 plants, 1,185 MW total
• AES Distributed Energy — 75 plants, 1,010 MW total
• Terra-Gen Operating Co-Hybrid — 9 plants, 809 MW total
• Consolidated Edison Development Inc. — 18 plants, 763 MW total

Solar Permitting and Regulation in California

Utility-scale solar in California is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Wholesale market participation and interconnection are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the relevant ISO/RTO. All generators above 1 MW must report capacity, fuel type, and location to the EIA via Form 860 — the dataset used in this map.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many solar farms are in California?

California has 865 solar farms in the latest EIA Form 860 filing — a combined 22,394 MW of installed capacity. Of those, 117 are utility-scale (50 MW or larger).

What is the largest solar farm in California?

The largest solar farm in California is Topaz Solar Farm, located in Santa Margarita (San Luis Obispo County), with 586 MW of installed capacity. It is operated by Topaz Solar Farms LLC.

How much solar capacity does California have?

California has 22,394 MW of installed solar capacity across 865 plants reporting to the EIA. This counts only the solar portion (Solar_MW field) — co-located batteries and other generation are reported separately.

Who regulates solar farms in California?

Solar farms in California are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) at the state level, with federal oversight from FERC. The EIA collects annual data on every utility-scale solar plant via Form 860.

View all 6,406 US solar farms on the national interactive map