Developer of utility-scale solar power projects, SolarReserve has been given the final green light from the United States Department of Interior for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar officially approved the 110 MW solar project to be constructed on public land in Nye County, Nevada.
SolarReserve boasts that the Crescent Dunes facility will use a unique and more stable solar energy technology developed by its partner United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) that "has the ability to capture and store enough thermal energy each morning to provide electricity at full power all afternoon and for up to eight hours after sunset."
When complete the project will create 50 permanent jobs, generate enough electricity to power 75,000 homes and create a lifetime income of an estimated US$40 million.
With Secretary Salazar's approval SolarReserve will begin construction mid-2011.
“Crescent Dunes joins a host of renewable energy projects on public lands in the West that are opening a new chapter on how our nation is powered,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Using American ingenuity, we are creating jobs, stimulating local economies and spurring a sustainable, clean energy industrial base that will strengthen our nation’s energy security.”
Read the press release: U.S. Department of Interior Approves SolarReserve's 110 Megawatt Nevada Solar Power Project [pdf]
Image Credit: Richmann via Flickr
Joseph Baker is a freelance writer living in Vancouver BC. His areas of focus include renewable energy, sustainability and climate change.
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