New solar thermal plant in Mojave

The Mojave desert boasts some of the largest utility-scale solar power facilities in the world and it will soon get another one.  This week, the California Energy Commission approved the licenses required to begin construction on the Blythe solar power project.  When the facility’s four phases are online, it will generate 1,000 MW making it the 15th largest power plant in California.  The facility will produce roughly the same amount of power as a large-sized coal or gas facility and would be capable of powering 800,000 homes.

The size of the project is definitely attracting attention, and will go a long way towards California’s stated objective of meeting 33% of its power needs from renewable sources by 2020.  The Energy commission is currently reviewing a number of other solar thermal power projects which would add another 3,300 MW in total power generation capacity.

If built, the Blythe plant would be one of the largest solar power projects in the world, but still a drop in the bucket for US power consumption which averaged 420,000 MW per hour in 2009.

Lest we forget, solar projects do have an environmental impact, just as hydro-electric projects do.  This particular project would cover 7,000 acres of flat desert.   The New York Times Green Blog covered the story as well.