The Department of the Interior announced the approval of the 100-megawatt Quartzsite Solar Energy Project. The project underwent extensive environmental review and public comment.
The Quartzsite Solar Project, located in La Paz County, Arizona, about was proposed by Quartzsite Solar Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Solar Reserve, LLC (Santa Monica, CA). The 100-megawatt project will use concentrating solar “power tower” technology to drive steam turbine generators with heliostats on 1,600 acres of BLM-managed lands.
The Quartzsite Solar Energy Project will employ dry-cooling technology, which requires a fraction of the water needed for wet-cooling. The project is expected to create 438 jobs during peak construction and 47 full-time operations and maintenance jobs. When operational, the facility will generate enough clean power to meet the needs of an estimated 30,000 homes.
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has identified an additional 15 active renewable energy proposals slated for review this year and next. The BLM identified these projects through a process that emphasizes early consultation and collaboration with its sister agencies at Interior – the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.