Mojave Solar Project Gets $1.2B Loan Guarantee

The Energy Department announced it is offering its financial support to what will be the nation’s first utility-scale deployment of Abengoa’s latest Solar Collector Assembly (SCA).

The DOE has finalized a $1.2 billion loan guarantee for the development of the Mojave Solar Project (MSP) in San Bernardino County, California, which is projected to increase the nation’s currently installed concentrating solar power (CSP) capacity by approximately 50 percent.

The SCA’s new heat collection element increases thermal efficiency by up to 30 percent over first generation CSP plants. The 250-megawatt solar generation project’s advanced features include a lighter, stronger frame designed to hold parabolic mirrors that are easier and less expensive to build and install.

The construction has already begun and is scheduled for completion sometime in 2014, Abengoa says, with the project to bring with it some 900 construction and permanent operations jobs.

The Mojave Solar Project is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 54,000 homes, and will prevent the emission of 350,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

An estimated 80 percent of total costs, including both capital equipment and labor, are expected to be sourced in the U.S. 

“Investments in solar generation facilities like the Mojave Solar Project are critical to our effort to create good, clean energy jobs in America and compete with countries like China in the global clean energy race,” said Secretary Chu in a statement for the press. “This project will supply local utilities with energy, help drive down the cost of solar power, and fund more than 900 American jobs, all at minimal risk to the taxpayer.”

The energy produced by the project will be sold by PG&E for a period of 25 years, following an agreement that is currently pending approval by the California Public Utilities Commission.