County home to biggest plant? By BRIANNA LUSK, Staff Writer
Monday, June 30, 2008 10:28 PM PDT
The world’s largest solar energy plant could be located in Imperial County and is on its way to becoming a reality, Stirling Energy Systems officials said.
The Phoenix-based company filed an application to build the project with the California Energy Commission on Monday.
SES Solar Two would generate 750 megawatts of energy for 500,000 homes in the San Diego area and is expandable up to 900 megawatts.
“This is a significant achievement,” said Bruce Osborn, SES chief operating officer. “Stirling Energy Systems is one step closer to providing Californians with a cleaner and healthier energy alternative.”
The CEC process could take more than a year to complete and construction could begin before the end of 2009.
The project would utilize solar dish engine technology called the SunCatcher system.
The proposed project garnered accolades from the governor.
“This groundbreaking solar energy project is a perfect example of the clean renewable energy California can and will generate to meet our long-term energy and climate change goals,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.
Stirling has entered into an agreement with San Diego Gas & Electric for the energy to be produced by the solar plant.
If approved, the first phase of the project will consist of 12,000 SunCatcher dishes outputting 300 megawatts of green energy along the existing Southwest Powerlink that connects to SDG&E.
The second phase will require the build-out of new transmission, Osborn said.
“We can deliver the first phase to San Diego on existing power lines, but new transmission infrastructure is critical to achieving full realization of the of the Solar Two facility,” Osborn said.
SDG&E said the solar energy project is critical in reaching its goal of 20 percent of renewable energy by 2010, a mandate handed down by the state.
“As we strive for a balanced and diverse energy mix, the Stirling Energy project will be a significant contributor to helping SDG&E meeting its green energy goals,” said Mike Niggli, SDG&E chief operating officer.
A decision on Sunrise Powerlink, the controversial $1.4 billion 150-mile transmission line proposed by SDG&E is expected later this year.
" Finally! I wonder why it took so long to figure out a solar energy plant would work well here where the freaking sun light is so strong. We also have abundant open space for one too, not just for shopping centers and houses. "
creek123 wrote on Jul 1, 2008 12:42 PM:
" IID makes money out of power customers. Solar might put the high salaries out of business. "
andEjudge wrote on Jul 1, 2008 12:42 PM:
" WAIT..I found it, see the Mega-Region article. I may have been wrong...only a little though. I didn't see anybody from the IID or Board of Supervisors meeting and greeting during this tour. I has a direct corellation with this article.
More jobs? Bring it! "
andEjudge wrote on Jul 1, 2008 12:32 PM:
" Solar power is an abundant resource that we have here that until now remained untapped. Investors in such an endeavor see profits on the horizon. The horizon being the cash cow 100 miles to the west. I question how many jobs will it create for Valley residents. SDG&E certainly has many employees that would seize the opportunity to make good money and relocate to an area where the housing and cost of living is a fraction of what it is in San Diego. Our elected officials both at the county Board of Supervisors and the IID should have dipped their hands in for some action of the behalf of the residents of the Imperial County.
The last line in the article reeks of opportunity. "The controversial 150 mile transmission line to be expected later this year." We need to go Cookie Monster on them and say "Me first and the Gimme Gimme" "
0207 wrote on Jul 1, 2008 11:52 AM:
" When will the bright people of the valley snap to the reality that the region has lots of potential? It seems they elect fools to the IID board who can't see up from down. Has anyone had the privilege of hearing the fellow from Heber speak? Wow. Can you imagine the energy saving for the ratepayers if the IID actually generated its own energy and sold the surplus? It is painful to watch as the valley slides into the toilet. "
ricocafe99 wrote on Jul 1, 2008 10:00 AM:
" Why don't people realize that creating a product, in this case, energy, and selling it into other markets, in this case San Diego, is just plain good business and great for those of us who live here? We will reap benefits irregardless of who the investors are. Do we not produce agricultural products for other regions? Having said that it would be nice to see the IID get in on this but frankly they would probably bungle it up. "
heyzeus wrote on Jul 1, 2008 9:24 AM:
" NIMBY.
Imperial County is (becoming) San Diego's unkept backyard. "
reymisterio wrote on Jul 1, 2008 8:43 AM:
" If we want smart people doing this then count agzero out. "
andEjudge wrote on Jul 1, 2008 8:08 AM:
" Why is it being put up in Imperial County without generating both power and money for the Imperial County. I think it is a great idea but based on the article I don't see the benefit for Imperial County. Is it going to generate revenue and jobs for one of the poorest regions of the state? Or is it another SD bully project. "
agzero75@hotmail.com wrote on Jul 1, 2008 7:24 AM:
" No IID is too busy putting money in their own pockets to realize that maybe this would have been a good deal. Besides, we want smart people doing this. "
0207 wrote on Jul 1, 2008 5:33 AM:
" IID could have done this. "
Log on
If you have an account already, just enter your Member ID and Password to access this page.
If you're new to our site, please create a new account.
Register FREE
To use certain features of ivpressonline.com, you must register FREE on the form provided. The Imperial Valley Press’ use of any personally identifying information you provide as part of registration is governed by the following privacy policy:
ivpressonline.com does not, and will not, release your personal information to any third party without your consent. We may, however, share some of the information we gather, in aggregate or demographic form, with advertisers and other partners. That is, we may provide general information about ways people use our site without identifying any particular individuals.
The opinions above are from readers of ivpressonline.com and in no way represent the views of the Imperial Valley Press staff or Schurz Communications Inc.
ivpressonline.com encourages readers to offer their opinions on our local stories. We ask readers keep their comments on topic and avoid derogatory comments about fellow readers. Our goal is to promote a civil discussion about the news.
We will never edit or alter comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain:
Subscribe Get the Imperial Valley Press every morning at your home or office. Start a subscription for your family, for yourself or give it to someone special. Click here.
Text Message AlertsReceive text message alerts on breaking news, latest updates, sports scores, offers and much more on your cellphone or PDA. Sign up here.
RegisterRegister free and start receiving email alerts on breaking news, a sneak preview of upcoming stories, reminders and much more. Click here to begin.
About UsWant to know more about the Imperial Valley Press? Want to contact us? Get general and contact information. Click here.
gomez.ana2008 wrote on Jul 1, 2008 10:14 PM: