California Complex Expected to Create Approximately 1,000 Jobs and Avoid Over 640,000 Tons of Carbon Pollution Annually
Announced this afternoon via Twitter.com/energy, the U.S. Department of Energy finalized $1.6 billion in loan guarantees to support the Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System, three related utility-scale concentrated solar power plants.
BrightSource estimates the project will create approximately 1,000 construction jobs and 86 operations and maintenance jobs.
The three-plant Ivanpah Solar Complex will generate:
- approximately 392 gross megawatts (MW) of electricity using the company’s innovative, proprietary concentrating solar power (CSP) technology.
- nearly one million megawatt hours of electricity per year
- enough to power over 85,000 homes, and will avoid over 640,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking over 120,000 cars off the road.
The project includes solar fields containing over 173,000 dual-mirror heliostats through a purchase agreements (PPA) with Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison Company (SCE).
The project will be interconnected to the electricity grid via an upgraded SCE transmission line.
Source: The US Department of Energy, through the Loan Programs Office Loan Programs Office website.
