California Officials Give Green Light to 250-Megawatt Solar Facility
Thursday, August 26th 2010 5:25 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
A 250-megawatt California solar energy facility received final approval Wednesday, reports say.
The Beacon Solar Energy Project, which is being developed by Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources, will be built on the edge of the Mojave Desert in California. It will be located north of Edwards Air Force Base on flat, sun-baked terrain that's perfect for solar-thermal power.
Beacon is actually the first solar-thermal project to be approved by California regulators in two decades.
Solar-thermal technology concentrates sunlight on a tower filled with fluid. The fluid is superheated and produces steam, which runs turbines that generate electricity.
Not only will the plant produce carbon-free energy from the sun - it will use recycled municipal water for cooling. The decision to use wastewater in lieu of groundwater was lauded by environmentalists. The project, Defenders of Wildlife senior director Jim Lyons said to the San Francisco Chronicle, will "provide renewable energy with minimal environmental impacts."
"This is exactly the type of project we want to see," California Energy Commission member Jeffrey D. Byron noted at a Wednesday hearing.
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A 250-megawatt California solar energy facility received final approval Wednesday, reports say.
