Privately-held BrightSource, of Oakland, California, said in a release it expects to have all of the necessary permits to commence construction in the autumn of 2010.
With the toughest renewable energy mandates in the nation, the California Energy Commission is considering several solar power facilities. For a FACTBOX on proposed solar power plants in California see:
The Ivanpah plant will cost about $1.1 billion, or about $2,800 per kilowatt, according to industry sources. In comparison, it costs about $900 per kW to build a combined cycle natural gas plant and about $1,800 per kW to build an onshore wind turbine.
In February, the U.S. Department of Energy conditionally committed $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to support the project financing.
Engineering and construction firm Bechtel will build Ivanpah, which BrightSource said will provide about $650 million in wages over its first 30 year life and create more than 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction.
To help meet the state renewable mandates, California power companies PG&E Corp's Pacific Gas and Electric and Edison International's Southern California Edison agreed to buy power from Ivanpah (about two thirds for PG&E and one third for SCE) once it enters service.
BrightSource has said in papers filed with the California Energy Commission it would take about three and a half years to build the project.
Over the next several months, BrightSource said the proposed California Energy Commission staff decision marks the start of a 30-day public comment period, after which the project will be put before the full Commission for a final decision. The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is also reviewing the project.
The Ivanpah project will consist of three separate solar thermal power plants covering a total of 3,400 acres, or 5.3 square miles, that will produce enough power for 140,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 400,000 tons annually, BrightSource said.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by John Picinich)
((scott.disavino@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6072; Reuters Messaging: scott.disavino.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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