Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550-megawatt (MW) solar power project to be built in the California desert east of Palm Springs, has received right-of-way approvals from U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar after extensive environmental review and mitigation. The project will create more than 630 jobs at peak construction and infuse an estimated $336 million into the local economy according to the DOI. The project will also generate about $27 million in sales and property tax revenue to Riverside County.
According to a Desert Sunlight Holdings spokesman, the approval paves the way for construction to begin this month. The project needed to pass an environmental review from the Interior Department because it is being built on approximately 4,100 acres of public land.
In June, the U.S. Department of Energy granted Desert Sunlight a conditional commitment of a $1.88 billion loan guarantee which is still pending.
Via Area Development Online News Desk