250 megawatt solar project planned near Hinkley

HINKLEY • A Delaware-based company seeks to build a 250 megawatt solar project close to Harper Dry Lake nine miles northwest of Hinkley.

The Abengoa Mojave Solar Project will be built on about 1,765 acres of private property next to two existing solar facilities owned by NextEra Energy, said Fred Redell, the project manager for Mojave Solar LLC, a limited liability company of Abengoa Solar. Once it’s finished the project will have the ability to power an estimated 80,000 homes, he said.

“It’s very large,” Redell said, adding that there will be more than 500 solar troughs built. “If it was built right now it would be the largest in the world.”

The California Energy Commission received enough information from Mojave Solar LLC for the company to begin the discovery phase of its project, according to Percy Della, a commission spokesman. The company will provide the necessary data for the energy commission to conduct an environmental analysis. The type of data includes soil and water data, biological and cultural resources as well as impacts to public health, Della said. The land the proposed project will be built on is fallow agricultural land, he said.

“All data requests are public so all stakeholders can participate along the way,” he said.

Scott Frier, chief operating officer for Abengoa Solar, Inc., was unavailable Friday.

The Abengoa Mojave Solar Project’s application for certification and supplemental data is available on the California Energy Commission’s Web site at http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/abengoa/index.html. The project’s application for certification is also available at the Barstow Branch Library at 304 E. Buena Vista Street, and the Barstow Community College Library at 2700 Barstow Road. Questions about the project can be submitted to Project Manager Craig Hoffman at CHoffman@energy.state.ca.us.  

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(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com