According to the U.S. department of Energy website, “Steven Chu announced Monday conditional commitments for more that $1.37 billion in loan guarantees under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to BrightSource Energy, Inc to support the construction of three utility-scale concentrated solar power plants.  The new plants will generate approximately 400 megawatts of electricity using the company’s innovative technology.  This would nearly double the existing generation capacity of this type of renewable energy in the U.S.”  The loan guarantee is conditioned on financial and environmental requirements BrightSource must meet before closing on the loan, including state and federal regulatory approvals.

“This is an investment in American jobs and the clean, renewable energy our economy needs,” said Secretary Chu.  “We’re not going to sit on the sidelines while other countries capture the jobs of the future- we’re committed to becoming the global leader in the clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu.

The Energy Department states that the three-plant Ivanpah Solar Complex will be located on federally owned land in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California, near the Nevada border, and will be the world’s largest operational concentrated solar power complex.  The project, when completed, will supply clean electric power to about 140,000 California homes.