On Monday, the Biden administration announced the approval of a large solar energy project in the California desert that would be capable of generating power for nearly 90,000 homes.
"Another Mega Solar Project Approved For Riverside County Desert. Federal officials on Monday approved the $550 million Crimson Solar Project." [1]
To Minimize Its Dependence on Fossil Fuels
President Joe Biden's administration says it needs to ensure diversity in the populations that benefit from the change and the people who are employed to do the job as the country pushes to minimize its dependence on fossil fuels and use cleaner energy sources. Biden has set a target of having deprived communities receive 40% of the total benefits of federal environment and clean-energy investments.
$15.5 Million Released Initially
The Department of Energy announced $15.5 million in new funding on Tuesday to install solar energy in underserved communities and to create a more diverse, trained workforce to help the administration achieve its ambitious target of 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.
$550 Million Solar Project on 2,000 Acres
According to a statement from the Interior Department, the $550 million Crimson Solar Project will be built on 2,000 acres of land federally owned west of Blythe. It is being built by Recurrent Energy, a unit of Canadian Solar (CSIQ.O), and will supply power to California utility Southern California Edison.
Power Supply for up to 88000 Homes
According to the US Department of the Interior, once operational, the $550 million Crimson Solar Project west of Blythe would have the potential to power approximately 87,500 homes.
According to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, "Projects like this can help to make America a global leader in the clean energy economy through the acceleration of responsible renewable energy development on public lands."
The statement came as President Joe Biden has pledged to accelerate the construction of renewable energy projects on public lands as part of a larger plan to combat climate change, generate jobs, and counteract former President Donald Trump's focus on optimizing fossil fuel production.
According to the announcement, Crimson Solar will generate 650 jobs in construction but only 10 permanent and 40 seasonal employments in maintenance and operation over the project's 30-year lifespan.
Solar projects which have already been accepted as part of the Riverside East Solar Energy Zone of the plan are as follows.
- McCoy FPL Energy (Riverside County), 5,440 acres, 750 MW photovoltaic (PV) facility
- Blythe Solar Power Project (Riverside County), 4,313 acres, 485 MW PV facility
- Genesis Solar (Riverside County), 1,952 acres, 250 MW parabolic trough facility
- Desert Harvest (Riverside County), 1,198 acres, 150 MW PV facility
- Palen Solar (Riverside County), 5,160 acres, 500 MW PV facility
- Desert Quartzite (Riverside County), 3,000 acres, 450 MW PV facility
The plant will also include a battery storage facility and will be built on land allocated for renewable energy production under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, a collaboration between both the state of California and the Obama administration that set aside areas for solar and wind power projects.
RESOURCES:
[1] https://patch.com/california/palmdesert/another-mega-solar-project-approved-riverside-county-desert
Published by: Book Club