Clean Energy Traffic Jam Snarls Grid Access in Key Solar Market

Under a clear blue sky, Sheldon Kimber showed off a sea of American-made solar panels soaking up some of the world’s best sunlight in the Southern California desert.

A longtime California solar developer, Kimber celebrated his Oberon Solar Project in Riverside County as a rare feat of scale: Nearly 1.5 million modules, spread across 2,400 acres of public land, charging 286 gigantic battery packs that dispatch power after the sun sets. The plant feeds a buzzing substation that steps up the electricity to 500,000 volts and delivers it to an overhead transmission line feeding the Greater Los Angeles area.

But ...