The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) gave the go-ahead to 520 MW of renewable energy projects,
including two solar and one geothermal plant, on public land in the states of
Arizona and Nevada.
Among the projects that got leases on public land are the
350 MW Midland solar energy project to be developed by Boulder Solar Power LLC in Nevada.
Creating about 350 construction jobs, the facility will generate enough
renewable power for about 105,000 households, when completed.
The second project that secured DOI approval is the 70-MW
New York Canyon geothermal plant
in Nevada, proposed by TGP Dixie Development Co LLC, part of TerraGen Power
LLC.
The 100 MW Quartzsite concentrated solar power (CSP)
facility in Arizona, planned by Quartzsite Solar Energy LLC which is a unit of
California-based SolarReserve, has also won government consent. This project is
expected to open 438 working positions at peak construction and create 47
full-time operations and maintenance (O&M) jobs. The output of the plant
will be enough to power about 30,000 households, according to the developer's
calculations.
All of the proposed projects have undergone environmental
assessment and public comment, the DOI noted. When up and running, the three
plants will be able to generate enough electricity to meet the power needs of
almost 200,000 households.
Since 2009, the DOI has approved 25 utility-scale solar
parks, nine wind power facilities and 11 geothermal systems with the related
transmission corridors and infrastructure needed for grid connection. Once
operational all these will have a combined capacity of more than 12.5 GW and
will produce enough power to supply over 4.4 million homes. In addition, the
department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has earmarked 15 more renewable
energy projects, to be assessed in 2013 and 2014.
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