Rio Mesa
In October 2011, BrightSource Energy filed an Application for Certification with the California Energy Commission for the development of a three 250 megawatt (nominal) solar power plants (750 megawatts nominal combined) in California’s Riverside County. If approved, the Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility (SEGF) will use BrightSource’s proprietary LPT solar thermal energy system and its next generation 250 megawatt solar plant design, which reduces land use by 33% or more compared to a typical photovoltaic (PV) farm and parabolic trough solar thermal plant.
Project Overview
- A 750 megawatt solar complex using mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers atop power towers.
- Located on 5,750 acres of mostly privately-owned land in Riverside County, approximately 13 miles southwest of Blythe, CA. The majority of the land is privately-owned by the Metropolitan Water District; the remainder is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
- The electricity generated by the three plants is enough to serve more than 300,000 homes in California during the peak hours of the day.
- The complex will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly 20 million tons over its 25 year life cycle.
- The Rio Mesa SEGF will create more than 2,500 construction jobs at the peak of construction and approximately 150 operations and maintenance jobs.
- Construction wages are expected to reach nearly $660 million, with operations and maintenance employee earnings estimated at nearly $410 million. The project will also generate approximately $300 million in local and state tax revenues.
- The Rio Mesa SEGF is expected to be complete by 2016.
