Proposed decision recommends license for genesis solar energy project

Thursday, 26 August 2010 16:09

9952_license_genesis_solar_project_california

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A California Energy Commission siting committee is recommending the approval of the planned Genesis Solar Energy Project in Riverside County. In its presiding member's proposed decision (PMPD) released today, the committee said the proposed 250-megawatt facility, as mitigated, will have significant impacts on the environment. However, the benefits of the project would override those impacts. The committee determined the project complies with all applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards. Over the past month, the Energy Commission has issued proposed decisions recommending the approval of more than 2,100 megawatts of solar power, including Genesis Solar Energy Project. The other projects that are recommended to be considered for a license to construct are the 250 MW Abengoa Mojave Solar Project; the 250 MW Beacon Solar Energy Project; the 1,000 MW Blythe Solar Power Project; and the 370 MW Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System Project.

The proposed decision for the Genesis Solar Energy Project was based solely on the record of facts, which were established during the facility's certification proceeding. The PMPD is not a final decision on the project. The committee released the document for 30 days of public comment and will consider input before bringing the proposed decision to the full five-member Commission. The entire document can be found on the Commission's website at: www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/genesis_solar/documents/

The Genesis Solar Energy Project, is proposed by Genesis Solar LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. The project would be comprised of two 125-megawatt solar units. Electric power would be produced using steam turbine generators fed from solar steam generators. The solar steam generators receive heated transfer fluid from solar thermal equipment comprised of arrays of parabolic mirrors that collect energy from the sun.

The project site is located in Riverside County, California, approximately 25 miles west of Blythe, on lands managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management in the Sonoran Desert. The site would occupy approximately 1,800 acres north of Ford Dry Lake and about four miles north of Interstate 10. If approved by the full Commission, the project would start construction in the fourth quarter of 2010, with commercial service by the second quarter of 2013.

The federal government and the State of California have established the need for the nation and state to increase the development and use of renewable energy in order to enhance the nation's energy independence, meet environmental goals, and create new economic growth opportunities.

For more information on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Executive Order to advance the state's Renewables Portfolio Standard, go to: http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/13273

More information on the Genesis Solar Energy Project is available at: www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/genesis_solar/