Concentrating solar power: Secretary Salazar approves 7th large-scale project on U.S. public land

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http://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-news/current/kw44/concentrating-solar-power-secretary-salazar-approves-seventh-large-scale-project-on-us-public-lands-250-mw-facility-to-create-nearly-1100-jobs.html

Concentrating solar power: Secretary Salazar approves seventh large-scale project on U.S. public lands; 250 MW facility to create nearly 1,100 jobs

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on November 4, 2010 approved the Genesis Solar Project, a 250 megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power (CSP) facility that will use parabolic trough solar thermal technology to produce enough clean energy to power 75,000 - 187,500 homes and generate 1,085 jobs at peak construction and 50 permanent positions. "The Genesis Solar Project will help stimulate the economy and create more than a thousand new jobs in California," Secretary Salazar said in signing the Record of Decision. "This is the seventh renewable energy project approved through the fast-track process in less than four weeks - a giant leap forward in meeting the President's goals for developing domestic energy resources, reducing carbon emissions, promoting energy independence, and enhancing our national security."

CSP gigawatts approved

Proposed by Genesis Solar LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, the facility will be located on nearly 1,950 acres of public land 25 miles west of Blythe, in Riverside County, California. The decision authorized Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to offer Genesis Solar a right-of-way grant to use these public lands for 30 years if all rents and other conditions are met.

In October, Salazar approved six other large-scale solar energy projects that combined would have an electricity generating capacity of 2,837 MW, enough to power 851,000 to 2.1 million homes, as well as create 3,700 new construction jobs and more than 600 permanent plant operations jobs.

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