Solarthermal power plant developer BrightSource Energy Inc. has obtained a commitment for $1.37 billion in loan guarantees from the US Department of Energy for financing the company's Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California. BrightSource Energy is the parent company of BrightSource Industries (Israel) Ltd. and operates in the US.
The commitment is an important milestone development of the Ivanpah project, California’s first large-scale commercial solar thermal power plant in nearly two decades. When constructed, Ivanpah will be the world’s largest solar energy project, nearly doubling the amount of solar thermal electricity currently produced in the US.
Construction of the Ivanpah project is due to begin in the second half of 2010 following permits issued by the California Energy Commission and the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management.
The Ivanpah facility will utilize BrightSource Luz Power Tower 550 technology (LPT 550), which is currently at the company's Solar Energy Development Center in the Negev and has been in operation for a year.
The 400-megawatt Ivanpah project in southeastern California, has three separate solarthermal power plants. When completed will produce enough clean energy to power 140,000 homes and will nearly double the amount of solarthermal energy currently produced in the US. The power generated will be sold under separate contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE). PG&E will purchase approximately two-thirds of the power generated at Ivanpah and SCE will purchase approximately one-third. In all, BrightSource has contracted with PG&E and SCE to deliver more than 2,600 megawatts of electric power.
The loan guarantee is made possible by the Department of Energy’s Title XVII loan guarantee program, which was started in 2005 under the Energy Policy Act to support commercially proven technology in addition to innovative renewable energy technology. Under Section 1703 of the program, the Department of Energy issues a conditional commitment to guarantee loans to be provided by the US Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank. Execution of the final loan guarantees is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions specified in the conditional commitment.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 23, 2010
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