Merit Selected as SCADA and Controls Partner for Darden Clean Energy Project
Merit is proud to have been selected as the SCADA and Controls partner for the Darden Clean Energy Project, a utility-scale solar and storage project in Fresno County’s San Joaquin Valley. IPX Power owns the project, and Mortenson is building it as the EPC.
Once complete, Darden is set to become the largest battery energy storage system in U.S: 1,150 MWac (1,500 MWdc) of solar generation alongside up to 4,600 MWh of storage, enough to power 850,000 homes for four hours, connected to the grid through a 500kV substation and 15 miles of transmission line.. It is also the first project approved under California’s Opt-In Certification Program, a streamlined state permitting pathway for eligible clean energy projects.
Getting a project like Darden underway is a significant milestone. Keeping its systems coordinated through construction, commissioning, and the decades of operation that follow is another – and that’s where SCADA and Controls come in.
The SCADA and Controls system is the brain of the plant – the one system that ties the plant together, from inverters to trackers to MET stations and the substation. Merit’s role is to understand exactly how each vendor’s equipment needs to connect and operate so that the plant functions as one coordinated whole and integrates with the utility and offtakers. Through integration teaming, Merit’s engineers will work directly with the other vendors’ engineering teams, rather than in separate silos, keeping complex systems connected throughout the life of the project.
That work starts well before equipment reaches the field. Rather than solving issues reactively on site, Merit validates requirements and tests systems upfront, so field teams move quickly instead of troubleshooting from scratch. Driving the technical conversations from the outset, rather than waiting to react, helps keep a project of this scale on schedule.
Merit’s involvement doesn’t end at commercial operation. A plant like Darden will keep changing – including firmware, operating modes, and grid requirements that change after COD. Merit’s Long Term Service Agreements (LTSA) backed by a dedicated team supporting 50 sites and counting, provide 24/7 emergency response and ongoing enhancements and maintenance for the life of the system.
Darden is a glimpse of where large-scale solar and storage is headed – bigger, more complex, and more critical to the grid. Merit is pleased to be building it with Mortenson, and managing that changing complexity for the life of the plant is what Merit brings to every project. As the industry moves into its next chapter, Merit is moving with it.