Isra-Mart srl:BrightSource breaks ground on world's largest solar farm

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Californian firm begins work on giant Mojave Desert power plant, but its stint as the world's largest solar site is likely to be short-lived
BusinessGreen.com staff, BusinessGreen, 28 Oct 2010

BrightSource Energy yesterday broke ground on its flagship Ivanpah solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert, predicting that the facility will become the world's largest solar farm.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger hailed the project as further evidence of the state's position as one of the world's leading developers of clean technology.

"Projects like this one are helping us meet our long-term energy and environmental goals, while creating jobs and moving us toward a cleaner, more sustainable future – a future where California leads the nation and the world in a clean energy revolution," he said.

In addition to starting construction work, BrightSource also announced yesterday that energy giant NRG Energy will invest up to $300m (£191.45m) in the project, giving it the largest ownership stake in the facility. The energy firm will also join BrightSource in constructing and operating the plant, the company said.

BrightSource said that when completed in 2013 its solar tower technology will provide 392MW of capacity, providing enough clean energy to power 140,000 homes and making the facility the world's largest solar plant.

However, the Ivanpah project is unlikely to hold onto the title for long given the raft of large-scale solar thermal projects currently in development.

Earlier this week, Solar Millennium received approval from the US government for its plans for a 1GW solar plant at Blythe in California, while potential investors are meeting in South Africa this week to discuss plans for a facility in the Northern Cape that one day could generate up to 5,000MW of power.