The desert region of southern California continues to bloom with massive solar thermal power plants, providing jobs for thousands of people and generating clean electricity on arid lands once used for war games.
BrightSource Energy has announced plans to add to its stable of solar tower projects in the state, filing an Application for Certification (AFC) with the California Energy Commission to develop the 750 megawatt (MW) Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility near Blythe, California.
At 750MW capacity, Rio Mesa is BrightSource’s largest solar thermal development to date, overshadowing the company’s 250MW Hidden Hills farm and 392MW Ivanpah site in the Mojave Desert.
It’s understood the Rio Mesa installation will utilise the company’s application of molten-salt technology for storing surplus energy, allowing the plant to operate at night.
Molten salt storage is already in use at Torresol Energy’s Gemasolar project, located in the Spanish province of Andalucia – the world’s first baseload solar power station.
The Rio Mesa solar farm will consist of three 250MW solar thermal tower facilities set on 5,750 acres of land once earmarked for use as a nuclear power plant.
Each system uses a vast field of heliostat mirrors to focus sunlight on solar receivers atop 750-foot high towers. Power generated by the system creates high temperature steam which drives an electric turbine.
In a county where unemployment rates are at an all-time high, BrightSource predicts the Rio Mesa project will inject $800 million into the local economy and create approximately 2,500 new construction jobs along with 150 operations and maintenance jobs. The company expects to pay out over $1 billion in combined wages alone over the life of the project.
"The Rio Mesa project will create thousands of jobs, and contribute hundreds of millions in economic benefits for Riverside County and the State of California, all while producing clean and reliable electricity for 300,000 California homes," says Stephen Wiley, Senior Vice President of U.S. Project Development, BrightSource Energy.
