US Interior Secretary Approves Two Large California Solar-Power Projects
Dow Jones Newswires : October 05 2010
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday approved construction of two California solar-power facilities that will be built on federal public land.
The two projects, proposed by units of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Irish renewable-energy developer NTR PLC, are the first solar-power facilities approved for U.S. public lands, and the first in a string of solar-power projects the government is expected to approve by the end of the year that will more than double the solar-power generation capacity in the U.S.
“These projects are milestones in our effort to rapidly and responsibly capture renewable energy resources on public lands,” Salazar said during a conference call with reporters.
NTR unit Tessera Solar obtained approval last month from California regulators to build a 709-megawatt solar-thermal power plant on federal land in California’s remote Imperial Valley. The company will use a series of large dishes lined with curved mirrors to track the sun and beam solar energy to a device that will use the energy to generate electricity.
Sempra Energy (SRE) unit San Diego Gas & Electric has signed a contract to purchase the output from Tessera’s facility.
Chevron Energy Solutions plans to build a 45-megawatt solar-panel facility on unincorporated federal land in San Bernardino County. Unlike the Tessera facility, Chevron’s solar farm doesn’t require approval from the California Energy Commission.
Salazar said the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is likely to approve construction of several other solar-power projects proposed for federal land by the end of the year. Federal and state regulators in California have been working to fast-track approvals for nine large solar-power projects, to enable developers to take advantage of federal incentives that expire at the end of the year.
Renewable-energy developers have been rushing to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to start construction, or to spend 5% of project construction costs, in order to be eligible for a federal program that provides cash to developers in the amount of a federal 30% investment tax credit. The portion of the program that provides the cash grants expires at the end of the year.
Driving the surge in solar-power development is a state mandate that requires utilities to generate one-third of the power they sell from the sun, wind and other renewable sources. The requirement is part of California’s 2006 climate law, which aims to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels by 2020.
In addition to Tessera’s Imperial Valley project, the California Energy Commission has approved an 850-megawatt solar-power plant proposed by Tessera and similar projects proposed by NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE), BrightSource Energy, Solar Trust of America—a joint venture of Germany’s Solar Millenium AG (S2M.XE) and privately held Ferrostaal AG—-and Spain-based Abengoa SA (ABG.MC).