Commission approves plans to build a 370MW solar thermal power plant in Mojave Desert

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Full headline: California Energy Commission approves BrightSource Energy's plans to build a 370-megawatt solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert

Over the objections of several environmental groups concerned about the impact on native plants and the desert tortoise, the California Energy Commission on Wednesday gave Oakland-based BrightSource Energy approval to build a 370 megawatt solar thermal power plant in California's portion of the Mojave Desert.

BrightSource's Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is one of four large solar thermal power plants approved by the Energy Commission this month; five others are pending. The commission hopes to rule on all nine projects by the end of the year in order to qualify for federal stimulus funds.

If all nine are approved, they are expected to create more than 8,000 construction jobs and generate more than 4,300 megawatts of electricity. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that one megawatt of solar electricity is enough to power 200 homes, so the nine projects could power 860,000 homes.

... Desert tortoises spend much of their time in burrows underground, and biologists estimate that 25 to 50 live on the proposed 3,500-acre Ivanpah site. BrightSource plans to have trained biologists move the tortoises to a new location, but environmentalists say moving the creatures from their current habitat will harm them.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16146519