California’s push to increase renewable energy’s share of the power market is showing results. Construction of the first phase of a new 400-MW solar power project in the California desert will begin in late 2009 once a contractor is named.
Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource Energy Inc. this year has signed contracts with Rosemead, Calif.-based Southern California Edison Co. and San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for a total of 2,200 MW of power from seven planned solar plants at locations in California and Arizona. The five-sq-mile Ivanpah Solar Power Complex in the Mojave Desert near Needles, Calif., will house the first 100-MW tower, which will take 22 months to complete. Six months later the company plans to start a 200-MW tower at the same location and a new one every two years.