Wednesday, October 6, 2010
SolarReserve Gets CPUC Approval On Project
Santa Monica-based SolarReserve, the well-backed developer of solar thermal power plant technology, reported today that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), for the 25-year power purchase agreement announced last December by the firms. The firm said the approval allows the firm to continue to move forward on its Rice Solar Energy Project, a 150-megawatt solar energy project under construction in eastern Riverside County. SolarReserve--which is backed by more than $140M in funding from such firms as Citi Alternative Investments, Sustainable Development Investments (SDI), and Good Energies, US Renewables Group, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, Nimes Capital, and Credit Suisse--said the facility is expected to power up to 68,000 homes during peak electricity periods. SolarReserve's solar thermal technology is based on a license from United Technologies; the firm said its system has the ability to store 10 hours of solar energy, so that the firm can shift power production and also provide power after the sun has gone down.