Two large solar projects proposed for the same Southern California county are seeking approval from California regulators by the end of the year so they may capitalize on federal stimulus money granting as much as 30 percent of funding, according to published reports.

Discussions about the 500-megawatt Palen Solar Power Project and the 150-megawatt Rice Solar Energy Project are scheduled before the California Energy Commission.

Solar Millennium is developing the Palen project on a 5,200-acre site under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, an Interior Department subagency that also would have to sign off on the project. Once in operation, the facility will use two independent 250-megawatt units to concentrate solar thermal technology.

SolarReserve of Los Angeles is proposing the Rice Solar Energy Project, which would capitalize on a large field of mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a central tower to ultimately generate steam that would be used to generate power in a turbine. The site being eyed is part of a 2,560-acre lot of private land accessible by BLM land.

Both plants are slated for Riverside County.