SB County Will Host World’s Largest Solar Plant By December

(August 2) IVANPAH—What will be the largest solar plant in the world when it becomes operational in December is nearing completion at the northeast corner of San Bernardino County.
The $2.2 billion Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a joint venture by BrightSource Energy, Google and NRG Energy, located 110 miles east of Barstow, five miles west of the California-Nevada border. According to the California Energy Commission, which licensed the Ivanpah project in 2010 in keeping with the state’s goal of promoting clean renewable energy and having 33 percent of the state’s energy produced from such sources by 2020, construction is 95 percent complete. The 377-megawatt plant, consisting of three 459-foot tall towers and 170,000 heliostats, i.e., mirrors reflecting solar energy to the towers, on 5.3 square miles of federal land, will provide sufficient energy for 140,000 households and will connect to both Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison’s systems.
A significant portion of the funding for the project consists of a $1.6 billion loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Energy.

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