On December 8th, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved a transmission line, access road and substation on U.S. public lands to serve a 150 MW Rice Solar Energy Project, a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant planned for Riverside County, California.
The Rice project will be built on 5.71 square kilometers of previously disturbed, privately owned agricultural land near Blythe, California. The project's above-ground 230 kV transmission line will cross eight miles of land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and connect to the Western Area Power Administration's Parker-Blythe #2 transmission line.
“The Rice Solar Energy Project is yet another example of how we can strengthen local economies by generating good jobs and reliable power as we strive to become energy independent,” Secretary Salazar said. “I am pleased to approve this project as we move toward a sustainable clean energy future.”
Plant to include molten salt energy storage
The Rice CSP plant will utilize a solar power tower design, where a field of mirrors (heliostats) reflects sunlight onto a central receiver. The project will also include molten salt energy storage, which will enable it to produce power at night and during cloudy periods.
The DOI notes that the project has undergone extensive environmental review, including a requirement that developer SolarReserve LLC (Santa Monica, California, U.S.) fund the purchase of 6.16 square kilometers of land to compensate for impacts on desert tortoise habitat.
DOI approves 5 GW of solar generation in 24 months
The DOI notes that the approval of the transmission went through a new priority approach to approving renewable energy development on public lands, and was jointly addressed with the California Energy Commission.
The agency notes that because the development on private land is connected to the federal right of way for the transmission line, the environmental impact report and environmental assessment had to consider the impacts of the entire generation and transmission project, including the portions on private lands.
The agency notes that it has approved 22 major renewable energy projects in the past 24 months, including 13 commercial-scale solar energy facilities which will produce roughly 5 GW of electricity when complete.
The Rice project is one of nine large CSP projects approved by the California Energy Commission in the fall of 2010.
Courtesy: U.S. Department of the Interior; Image: SolarReserve LLC | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH
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