The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Line Siting Committee voted unanimously, 10 – 0, to recommend approval of a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for the 340 MW Hualapai Valley Solar project after two days of intense hearings. Mohave Sun Power is proposing to build a parabolic trough facility in the Mohave Desert in Arizona, just south of Las Vegas. The expected cost of the project is over $2 billion.
Executive Director, Mitchell Dong, said after the approval, “We are very pleased that the Line Siting Committee recognizes the value of solar power of Arizona and specifically in Mohave County. We are especially appreciative of the committee’s support of the project using wet cooling given its primary water source from the City of Kingman’s wastewater treatment plant. This innovative combination of solar power and the use of reclaimed water will set a model for future solar thermal plants in Arizona, the Southwest and in the deserts of the world.”
Solar Energy Parabolic
The Committee also conditioned its approval on the preferential hiring of local residents given the very high unemployment in Mohave County. The project is expected to employ over 1500 workers during construction and over 100 during operations.
The project is currently negotiating a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a major utility in the Southwest for a long term offtake contract. Negotiations are also underway for an engineering, procurement and construction contract with a global contractor to construct the facility. The sponsors are in the process of arranging financing for the facility, which is expected to close before the end of 2010 in order to qualify for the US Treasury cash grant in lieu of solar investment tax credit. It is anticipated that part of the financing will come from the US Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee program.
