$1.4 billion boost for Mojave solar project

The Energy Department has offered a $1.4 billion loan guarantee for a solar thermal power complex in the Mojave Desert that could produce as much as 392 megawatts of electricity.  The loan guarantee for Oakland, California-based BrightSource EnergyÔÇÖs project is the largest the department has given for a solar power project.  The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is the first utility-scale solar power plant to undergo licensing in California in almost 20 years.  The proposed site for the plant is in the Mojave Desert, on federally owned land about 45 miles south of Las Vegas.  It will deploy thousands of mirrorsÔÇöor heliostatsÔÇöwhich will focus the sun on three towers each containing a boiler filled with water. The focused heat will create steam that will drive a turbine to generate electricity.  The plant, to be built by Bechtel, is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs. Construction on the first Ivanpah tower is expected to begin during the second half of this year, with commercial operations beginning in 2012. All three towers are expected be operational by 2014.  When constructed, Ivanpah will be the worldÔÇÖs largest solar energy project, nearly doubling the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in the US today.  The loan guarantee is dependent upon the project passing state and federal environmental reviews.  ÔÇ£The loan guarantee commitment from the US Department of Energy serves as a tremendous validation of our technology, the BrightSource teamÔÇÖs ability to execute, and the Ivanpah projectÔÇÖs role in meeting our nationÔÇÖs large-scale renewable energy needs,ÔÇØ said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource.  ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre truly humbled by the opportunity to help build our nationÔÇÖs green energy economy by creating good jobs for local communities. We look forward to beginning construction on the Ivanpah project, making a real and substantive impact on climate change, and creating a model for environmentally-responsible energy projects.ÔÇØ  The total funding needed for the project has not been revealed, but BrightSource has said it will be raising equity financing from sources such as private investors, energy companies and investment funds.  BrightSource, which already has high-profile backing from companies such as Google, Morgan Stanley, Chevron and BP, has signed contracts to deliver 2,600 megawatts of electricity to the utilities Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE).  PG&E will purchase approximately two-thirds of the power generated at Ivanpah and SCE will purchase the remaining one-third.  California and other parts of the world are currently betting heavily on solar thermal energy. Around one quarter of the clean energy contracts approved in 2009 in California were for solar thermal, according to the Public Utilities Commission.  Responding to environmental concerns raised over the impact of the project on local wildlife, BrightSource earlier this month agreed to reduce the plantÔÇÖs footprint.