BrightSource receives $1.6 billion guarantee
BrightSource said the funding announcements close financing for the Ivanpah project, which was already set to receive up to $300 million in financing from power company NRG Energy.
The $168 million from Google is the company's largest investment in the clean energy sector to date, Google said in a statement.
"We're excited about Ivanpah because our investment will help deploy a compelling solar energy technology that provides reliable clean energy, with the potential to significantly reduce costs on future projects," the company said.
The Ivanpah project will consist of three related utility-scale solar thermal power plants located on federal land in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California.
The majority of solar power projects developed to date have been photovoltaic systems, in which sunlight is turned into electricity using semiconductor materials in panels.
But Brightsource will use thermal, or concentrated solar power stations where mirrors concentrate sunlight on a fixed point to heat a liquid that produces steam to power a turbine.
When construction is completed in 2013, the 392-megawatt project will provide enough power for more than 85,000 homes, the Energy Department said.
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Independent power project announced by B.C. Hydro now in limbo
VANCOUVER - A small run-of-river hydroelectric project recently selected by B.C. Hydro for a power purchase agreement may no longer be financially viable.
The Siwash Creek project was originally conceived as a two-megawatt power plant by the original proponent Chad Peterson, who holds a 50-per-cent stake through Green Valley Power, with the Kanaka Bar Indian Band holding the other half.
The partners were asked by B.C. Hydro to trim the capacity back to one megawatt, but by the time the Crown corporation announced its approval, it agreed to only half that — 500 kilowatts — under its Standing Order clean-energy program.
“Hydro wanted…
