SolarReserve Moves Forward on Southern California Solar Thermal Project

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SolarReserve, a California-based developer of utility-scale solar power projects, will continue to move forward on its Rice Solar Energy Project now that Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for the 25-year power purchase agreement announced last December. The 150-megawatt solar energy project will be located on private land located 30 miles northwest of the city of Blythe in eastern Riverside County, California. When completed, SolarReserve’s facility will supply approximately 450,000 megawatt hours annually of clean, reliable electricity—enough to power up to 68,000 homes during peak electricity periods—utilizing its innovative energy storage capabilities.

“Moving ahead on this project is especially exciting for us given we are a California-based company deploying technology developed here locally and will provide a reliable electricity product to thousands of Californians.”

“The California Public Utilities Commission’s approval represents an important milestone in bringing non-intermittent renewable energy assets online to meet the state’s renewable portfolio standards and green house gas emission reduction targets,” said Kevin Smith, SolarReserve’s CEO. “Moving ahead on this project is especially exciting for us given we are a California-based company deploying technology developed here locally and will provide a reliable electricity product to thousands of Californians.”

Utilizing an advanced molten salt system technology under exclusive worldwide license to SolarReserve from United Technologies Corporation, the Rice Solar Energy Project has the ability to store 10 hours of solar energy and consequently has the capacity to generate electricity during cloud cover or after the sun has gone down as well as the ability to shift power production to meet peak demand periods. This energy storage capability provides a stable, reliable electricity product similar to that of conventional fuel-burning power facilities.

What makes the project unique in comparison to most other large scale solar thermal projects in California is that it is located on private, previously disturbed land. Also, the project will not require supplemental natural gas, with the associated emissions, for periods of cloud cover or start up operations. These attributes have helped the project obtain “fast track” status to move on a priority basis through the California Energy Commission’s licensing process. SolarReserve hopes to receive all approvals for the project by the end of the year.

About SolarReserve

SolarReserve LLC, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is a solar energy technology and project development company and holds the exclusive worldwide license to the molten salt, solar power tower technology developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a division of United Technologies Corporation. Since its formation in late 2007, SolarReserve’s team of power project professionals have assembled a development portfolio of more than 25 projects featuring its licensed solar power technology with potential output of more than 3,000 megawatts in the United States and Europe; with early stage activities in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. SolarReserve’s experienced management team has previously developed and financed more than $15.0 billion in renewable and conventional energy projects in more than a dozen countries around the world.

SolarReserve’s molten salt, concentrating solar power tower technology was successfully demonstrated in California under a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored pilot project in the late 1990s. The 10-megawatt pilot facility utilized a molten salt receiver designed, engineered and assembled by Rocketdyne, now a part of United Technologies Corporation.

For more information about SolarReserve: www.SolarReserve.com.