Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility
Canceled power station in California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility was a proposed 500 megawatts (670,000 hp) solar thermal power project in Riverside County, California. The developers for the project were subsidiaries of BrightSource Energy, Inc.[1] The plant was expected to cost about $2 billion.[2]
| Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | near Blythe, Riverside Co. |
| Coordinates | 33°27′30″N 114°46′30″W |
| Status | Proposed |
| Construction began | planned for 2013; cancelled |
| Commission date | planned for 2016; cancelled |
| Construction cost | $2 billion |
| Solar farm | |
| Type | CSP |
| CSP technology | Solar power tower |
| Site area | 4,070 acres (16.5 km2) |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 500 MW |
The plant was to comprise two solar power towers, each with a generating capacity of 250 megawatts (340,000 hp). About 170,000 heliostats would have reflected sunlight to the receivers mounted on top of the 750-foot (230 m) towers.[2] The project was scaled down from 750 megawatts (1,010,000 hp) to 500 MW in May 2012, for which it has a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Southern California Edison (SCE).[3]
In December 2011, the California Energy Commission (CEC) accepted the application for certification for the Rio Mesa SEGF. In October 2012, Rio Mesa received preliminary approval from the CEC; final approval was needed by June 2013 to fulfill its PPA.[4] However, the discovery of a large deposit of Pleistocene fossils underlying part of the project's area delayed approval or construction.[5] In January 2013, BrightSource suspended the Rio Mesa project;[6] the project was formally cancelled in July 2013.[7]
