A total sum of $1.37 billion of federal loan has been guaranteed by the United States Department of Energy for BrightSource Energy Inc. This will finance the world’s largest solar thermal plant at Ivanpah, California.
The announcement of the construction was approved after a second plan was submitted. The first plan was to construct a solar thermal plant of 440 MW, yet this was reduced to 392 MW. The lessening capacity of the solar thermal plant was suggested to decrease negative effects on tortoise and rare plants available in the region.
The latest proposal was delivered to California Energy Commission and Bureau of Land Management earlier this month (11th Feburary 2010)
All the loan guarantees are bonded to special environmental prerequisites. The companies obtaining federal loans for renewable energy technologies must make sure that all the standards are effectively met.
Ivanpah solar project is constituted of creating three different solar farms. They will all be using the sun energy to steam turbines that will thereafter generate electricty through so called CSP (concentrated Solar Power). It is estimated that around 140 000 households will be supplied with energy from the project. This will result in a cut in greenhouse emission by around 400, 000 tons a year.
Construction for this particular project is expected to commence after the second quarter of this year. The major utility buyers will be Pacific Gas and Electric. They will purchase two-thirds of the total supplied energy from Ivanpah project, whereas the other one-third will be bought by Southern California Edison.
This project will create employment for around 1,000 people for the construction part and thereafter around 86 full time jobs. The provider for these employments will be BrightSource and Bachtel Corporation.
The solar thermal plants will generate an estimate of $400 million in tax revenue over 30 years of operation.
According to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California is the best and the most encompassing region for solar energy. It is already the largest provider of solar energy in the United States, and he is indubitably sure that other projects will be launched.
California has encouraged green ambitions enormously during the recent years. The growth of green technology is escalating; creating employment and providing reliable sources of energy.
BrightSource Energy – A Key Player In California
The California-based BrightSource Energy is the only company that has been considered as an innovator by the World Economic Forum in 2009. It has also showed its commitment towards renewable energy by raising a total of $160 million from various investors, enumerated below:
1. Google
2. Alternative Energy
3. British Petroleum
4. Chevron Technology
5. Ventures
6. StatoilHydro Venture
7. Black River
8. Venture Partners
9. Vintage Poing
10. Morgan Stanley
11. DBL Investors
12. Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Source: Ecoseed
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