Blythe Solar Power Project Approved in Mojave Desert, California

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the long-awaited approval of a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant on public lands in the Mojave Desert in southern California yesterday.

This project, which will (temporarily) be the world’s largest solar farm is expected to generate enough clean electricity for over 300,000 homes at peak output. It would more than double all solar output in the U.S.

“In signing the Record of Decision on Friday last week, Secretary Salazar gave developer Solar Millennium the green light to build the 7,000-acre project near Blythe, Calif. The project will create more than 1,000 jobs during construction and some 221 permanent jobs when it becomes fully operational,” the Defenders of Wildlife writes.

“The Blythe Solar Power Project is a major milestone in our nation’s renewable energy economy and shows that the United States intends to compete and lead in the technologies of the future,” MSNBC reports Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said when announcing his approval.

The project is estimated to cost $6 billion and construction is supposed to begin at the end of 2010. It is expected to start producing electricity in 2013.

“The plant will use ‘parabolic trough’ system whereby parabolic mirrors focus the sun’s energy onto collector tubes. Fluid in the tubes is then heated and sent to a boiler, which sends live steam to a turbine to produce electricity.”

“Fast Track” Solar Projects Going Fast

This is the sixth solar project the U.S. government has authorized on public lands (all deserts) in the last month. Approval of yet another project, also in California, is expected within the next few weeks. Altogether, these 7 projects could generate enough electricity for up to 2 million homes. The projects are expected to create over 2,000 jobs, several hundred being permanent.

These 7 projects are a part of 14 “fast track” solar projects getting expedited environmental review and minimal bureaucratic red tape. The program seems to be working well.

However, solar power still has a lot of catching up to do. MSNBC reports:

even after the 14 fast-track projects are approved, solar energy will remain a tiny fraction of overall energy production on U.S. lands. The projects approved this month are the first ever approved by land management bureau, compared with more than 74,000 oil and gas permits issued in the past two decades.

Environmental Concerns of Blythe Solar Project Addressed

Some widely-covered concerns of this solar project were, ironically, environmental concerns. In particular, a rare desert tortoise could be threatened by this project. However, large environmental organizations worked closely with the government and developers to ensure the project goes forward smoothly. The Defenders of Wildlife reports:

Conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Wilderness Society, worked closely with the developers and state and federal agencies on the project. While this project affects a large area with some sensitive resources, the Blythe Solar site has attributes that lessen its impacts

These organizations clearly see the great overall environmental benefit of switching to clean energy, and fast. Hopefully all will turn out well for the desert tortoises and other wildlife.

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Photo Credits: Blythe Sunset by kevindooley on flickr (CC license); Sunset near Blythe, California by Accretion Disc on flickr (CC license)

Just yesterday I covered the groundbreaking of the largest northeastern U.S. solar farm, which is being built in the Sunshine Garden State, New Jersey. Now, I’ve got even more great solar news coming out of New Jersey. The State Legislature recently approved A1084, which would require that solar panels be incorporated into the design and construction of all new public school facilities in New Jersey.

A1084 “is currently before the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which is waiting on technical review by the Legislative Council to insure that such legislation does not violate previous state statutes,” Matt Montagne of CalFinder Solar writes.

Sponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora, (D-Mercer), Peter J. Barnes, III (D-Middlesex), and Albert Coutinho (D-Camden), the bill places the onus to insure the solar law before approving school construction on the New Jersey Commissioner of Education…. Gusciora says the mandate meshes nicely with $12.5 billion funded for schools in 2000 as a bond issue, of which $7.9 billion has been spent.

While this would be a great boost for clean energy jobs in New Jersey, the state with the second-most installed solar energy caacity (only trailing California),  you will always find your opponents. Some state Republicans are, of course, less than enthusiastic about the bill, and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association supports the general idea of the bill but would like to see one significant change. They would prefer an “incentive-based approach rather than a mandate.”

Hopefully, New Jersey will move forward with this legislation as is expected and as I said yesterday, hopefully other states and the U.S. as a whole are taking note of New Jersey’s progressive clean energy policies.

Photo Credit: mjmonty via flickr (CC license)

La Niña is expected to continue and increase in strength this winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently reported. Among other things, this means that wind speeds and wind energy production are also expected to increase.

At the request of its wind energy clients, 3TIER®, “the global leader in renewable energy information services,” released maps last week showing expected wind speed projections for the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 across most of the U.S.

“Our clients have responded very positively to our retrospective anomaly maps that show deviations from normal wind for past quarters. However, they have also told us that what they really want is a forecast for the next one or two quarters, especially when they are hearing about La Niña and its effects on climate all over the news,” said Pascal Storck, 3TIER’s Vice President of Advanced Applications.

To create our prediction, we performed a historical analysis of La Niña impacts on weather across the U.S. for the past 40 years. Our data show that if the La Niña event persists, as is forecasted by the global climate modeling community, many of the wind projects across the country should have a very good first quarter. This is a nice change from the first quarter of 2010 when many of the U.S. wind projects experienced below average wind speeds due to a strong El Niño effect.

Looks like good news for wind energy overall. However, the rather important wind energy corridor of West Texas and much of the upper Midwest and Northeast look like they won’t be getting much benefit from La Niña until 2011.

Map Credits: 3TIER®

Con Edison Development and Panda Power Funds started construction on a 20-megawatt solar electric generating station in Pilesgrove, NJ last week. This solar farm will be able to power over 5,100 homes and will be the largest solar farm in the northeastern U.S. upon completion.

The farm will include 71,400 solar panels and operation is expected to begin next spring. The clean power generated from these solar panels (20-megawatts DC or 18-megawatts AC) will reduce global warming emissions as much as taking 3,500 cars off the road each year would do.

New Jersey’s leading solar energy incentives were a big reason why the farm is being built in New Jersey.

“New Jersey has long been a national leader in promoting alternative energy, and this project is proof that our commitment to strong public-private cooperation is a model for success,” said New Jersey Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney.

“The State of New Jersey has set the pace for state governments nationwide through its powerful commitment to renewable energy, and that is why this solar installation is becoming a reality,” said Robert Mennella, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Con Edison Development.

“Thanks to an intelligent partnership between government and the private sector, New Jersey has become the tip of the sword in the green-energy economy,” said Todd Carter, president and managing partner of Panda Power Funds. “Garden-state legislators have incentivized us to create jobs with free-market mechanisms — not costly government subsidies, grants or cumbersome loan guarantees.”

There you go, New Jersey’s progressive solar energy incentives are paying off. More states (and the nation as a whole) would do well to take note.

Photo Credit: Pink Dispatcher via flickr under a CC license

Interested in re-roofing your house? Or building a home and wondering what roofing system to go with? Check this out… Swedish company SolTech Energy has developed some cool-looking, award-winning solar glass roofing tiles. (Note: these are not active solar tiles but a passive solar roofing option.)

The glass tiles can be installed using traditional roof tile installation methods, and the tiles have a longer life than conventional concrete or clay roofing tiles.

How does the solar glass roofing system work? Preston Koerner of Jetson Green reports: “air below the glass tile is heated by the sun and redirected for use by the central heating system. The system works with air-based and water-based heating systems, including, for example, a ground source heat pump, air heat pump, pellet boiler, oil boiler, or electric boiler.”

The system is available commercially in Sweden and Spain and SolTech Energy intends to bring it to the U.S. in 2011.

The roof system is especially helpful in snowy climates since snow easily slides down the glassy tiles. The system won the Hottest New Materials 2010 award from the North Building Fair (aka Nordbygg).

Photo Credits: SolTech Energy