Earlier today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) approval of the Blythe Mesa Solar project in Riverside County, California.
The 485-megawatt photovoltaic facility will be constructed on 3,587 acres of previously disturbed agricultural private land and will generate enough electricity to power more than 145,000 California households.
One of the largest projects approved by Bureau of Land Management, the facility will also see the construction of a 230 kV gen-tie line connecting the solar farm to the Southern California Edison Colorado River Substation.
“The Obama Administration is committed to expanding responsible domestic energy production on our public lands as we diversify our nation’s energy portfolio and transition to a cleaner energy future,” Secretary Jewell said.
Originally to be a parabolic trough solar thermal plant, a decision was made in 2011 to switch technologies to solar power panels due to cost, financing and construction considerations.
Blythe Mesa Solar is the 57th project authorized by the Interior Department since 2009. Collectively the 34 solar, 11 wind, and 12 geothermal utility scale renewable energy facilities will have a capacity of nearly 15,000 megawatts – enough to power five million homes. Thirteen of the projects are already in operation.
“With this approval, the BLM is well on its way in realizing the president’s vision of permitting 20,000 MW of renewable energy on public land by the end of this decade,” said BLM Director Neil Kornze.
The Blythe Mesa Solar project’s path has been anything but smooth – most recently, the Colorado River Indian Tribes launched a lawsuit against Riverside County, alleging the county’s approval of the project failed to consider the potential impact on cultural and natural resources. Riverside County issued granted approval for the solar project in May 2015.
A total of 2,892 MW of large- scale solar panel based power generation facilities are currently in operation across the USA. According to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), more than 26,000 MW of utility-scale solar power projects are under development across the nation; enough to power more than 4.3 million households.
