The loan guarantee, which was developed under a DOE program started in 2005 under the Energy Policy Act, will provide funding to complete the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System.
The project will be located in Southeastern California and provide approximately 400 megawatts of solar energy - enough to power 140,000 homes and double the amount of solar thermal power in the U.S. - through three separate solar thermal power plants.
"As home to some of the world’s best solar fields and the nation's largest green economy, it is no surprise the world’s largest solar energy project would choose California," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "…It is projects like this one that will help us meet our long-term energy and climate change goals while creating jobs and moving us towards a cleaner more sustainable future."
The solar energy generated from the Ivanpah project will be sold separately to Pacific Gas and Electric, which will purchase two-thirds of the power generated, and Southern California Edison, which will receive the remaining one-third of the available energy.
