State officials in California are continuing to lay the groundwork for a future that will rely increasingly on renewable energy sources.

According to an announcement from the California Energy Commission, it has approved licenses for six solar energy plants in the past five weeks, while licensing a total of 2,829 megawatts of renewable power projects in the state's desert since late August.

In its latest actions, the commission approved the Genesis and Imperial Valley solar projects, which are expected to generate a total of 959 megawatts of electricity - sufficient to deliver clean energy to tens of thousands of homes in the state.

"By adding nearly 1,000 megawatts of renewable power we will reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and get the State closer to its goals of using more renewables by 2020. Today's actions show how California is leading the nation by licensing nearly 3,000 megawatts this year with large-scale solar power plants," said commission chair Karen Douglas.

One reason the commission moved to approve these projects is that they need to do so by December 31 in order to qualify for federal stimulus funds.