Press Release: BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY OFFERED NEARLY $1.4 BILLION IN LOAN GUARANTEES FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
(OAKLAND, CA) February 22, 2010 – BrightSource Energy, Inc., developer of utility-scale solar thermal power plants, announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy has conditionally committed to provide $1.37 billion in loan guarantees to support the financing of BrightSource’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System.
The commitment to provide loan guarantees marks a key milestone in the development of the Ivanpah project, California’s first large-scale commercial solar thermal power plant in nearly two decades. When constructed, Ivanpah will be the world’s largest solar energy project, nearly doubling the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in the US today.
“This clean-energy investment will help create up to 1,000 construction jobs in California,” said California Senator Barbara Boxer. “In these tough times, we need investments like this to create good clean-energy jobs for Californians, increase our energy independence, protect our children from pollution and ensure American leadership in the clean energy economy.”
“As home to some of the world’s best solar fields and the nation’s largest green economy, it is no surprise the world’s largest solar energy project would choose California,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Our ambitious environmental policies are promoting the growth of clean, reliable energy in our communities and growing green jobs up and down the state. And, it is projects like this one that will help us meet our long-term energy and climate change goals while creating jobs and moving us towards a cleaner more sustainable future.”
"I am very happy to see utility-scale solar projects like this one moving forward with strong Administration support, and I am hopeful that this project will serve as a cornerstone of the clean energy economy in the Southwestern U.S.,” said Nevada Senator Harry Reid. “I look forward to BrightSource and other solar companies putting more Nevadans to work by building major projects like this in Nevada very soon."
“The loan guarantee commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy serves as a tremendous validation of our technology, the BrightSource team’s ability to execute, and the Ivanpah project’s role in meeting our nation’s large-scale renewable energy needs,” said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource Energy. “We’re truly humbled by the opportunity to help build our nation’s green energy economy by creating good jobs for local communities. We look forward to beginning construction on the Ivanpah project, making a real and substantive impact on climate change, and creating a model for environmentally-responsible energy projects.”
The loan guarantee is made possible by the Department of Energy’s Title XVII loan guarantee program, which was started in 2005 under the Energy Policy Act to support commercially proven technology in addition to innovative renewable energy technology. Under Section 1703 of the program, the Department of Energy issues a conditional commitment to guarantee loans to be provided by the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank. Execution of the final loan guarantees is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions specified in the conditional commitment.
The Ivanpah Project: Clean Energy, Union Jobs, Environmentally-Responsible Design
The Ivanpah project, located in southeastern California, is an approximately 400 megawatt solar power facility consisting of three separate solar thermal power plants. When constructed, the project will produce enough clean energy to power 140,000 homes and nearly double the amount of solar thermal energy produced in the U.S. today.
The power generated from these solar plants will be sold under separate contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE). PG&E will purchase approximately two-thirds of the power generated at Ivanpah and SCE will purchase approximately one-third. In all, BrightSource has contracted with PG&E and SCE to deliver more than 2,600 megawatts of electric power.
"In today’s challenging economy, the conditional loan guarantee commitment from the DOE for the Ivanpah project provides vital support for building California’s first utility-scale solar thermal project in nearly two decades," said Peter A. Darbee, PG&E Corporation Chairman, CEO and President. "We’re thrilled to be a part of this historic project, which will deliver additional clean energy to our customers and help advance California's renewable energy and economic development goals."
“The conditional loan guarantee commitment from the DOE for the Ivanpah project illustrates the important role that utility-scale solar must play in meeting our state’s clean energy and economic goals,” said Pedro Pizarro, executive vice president of Power Operations for Southern California Edison. “Addressing climate change and building our economy requires that we bring innovative technologies to market that can reliably deliver competitively priced clean energy at scale.”
Ivanpah: Creating Union Jobs
BrightSource and Bechtel, the engineering and construction contractor for the Ivanpah project, estimate that construction of the Ivanpah project will require approximately four million job hours of work and 1,000 union jobs at the peak of construction. In December 2009, Bechtel signed a project labor agreement with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC) and the Building & Construction Trades Council of San Bernardino and Riverside counties to ensure that California’s local workforce benefits from the project. The project will also provide $400 million in local and state tax revenues, and produce $650 million in wages, over its first 30-year life.
“We are pleased that President Obama’s vision of a clean energy economy creating thousands of good jobs is beginning to become a reality” said Bob Balgenorth, President of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. “By committing to a union workforce, this project will be training and employing the middle class workers that support our state’s economy.”
Ivanpah: An Environmentally-Responsible Project
The Ivanpah project will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 400,000 tons annually, which is the equivalent of taking more than 70,000 cars off the road. The project is also designed in an environmentally responsible manner. Instead of the extensive land grading and concrete pads employed by other competing solar technologies, BrightSource mounts mirrors on individual poles that are placed directly into the ground, allowing the solar field to be built around the natural contours of the land and avoid areas of sensitive plant species.
In order to conserve precious desert water, the Ivanpah project will employ an air-cooling system to convert the steam back into water in a closed-loop cycle. By using dry-cooling, the project will use only 100 acre feet of water per year; less than ten percent of the water used by the adjacent golf course and 25 times less water than competing solar thermal technologies that use wet-cooling.
In addition to employing an environmentally low impact technology, the company recently submitted an alternative design for the Ivanpah project, which would further reduce the project’s footprint and significantly minimize any potential environmental impacts. The alternative mitigation proposal and the DOE loan guarantee represent two key steps towards the construction of the Ivanpah project.
The Ivanpah project is scheduled to begin construction in the second half of 2010 following issuance of permits by the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. The project has also been identified as a “fast-track” priority by the U.S. Department of Interior for obtaining federal stimulus benefits for California under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
In September 2009, BrightSource selected Bechtel as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the Ivanpah project. Bechtel Enterprises, the project development and financing arm of the Bechtel organization, has committed to become an equity investor in all of the Ivanpah solar power plants. In December 2008, BrightSource signed an agreement with Siemens for the largest ever solar-powered steam turbine generator, which will be used for the first of the three Ivanpah plants.
“The DOE Loan Guarantee program serves as a tremendous catalyst for building our clean energy infrastructure,” said Ian Copeland, president of Bechtel Renewables. “The Ivanpah project will usher in a new era of advanced solar power, and help the state and local economies by providing new jobs. We are pleased to not only support BrightSource as the engineering and construction contractor but also as an investor, which reflects our confidence in the project and our commitment to developing clean, renewable power projects.”
Luz Power Tower 550 (LPT 550) Technology
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Facility will utilize BrightSource Energy’s proven Luz Power Tower 550 technology (LPT 550). The system produces electricity the same way as traditional power plants – by creating high temperature steam to turn a turbine. However, instead of using fossil fuels or nuclear power to create the steam, BrightSource uses sunlight, reflected by thousands of small mirrors called heliostats onto a boiler filled with water that sits atop a tower. When the sunlight hits the boiler, the water inside is heated and creates high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine which generates electricity. This fully integrated system takes advantage of high operating efficiencies and low capital costs to provide reliable and low-cost carbon-free energy.
Today, the company’s LPT 550 solar system is employed at the Solar Energy Development Center (SEDC) in Israel’s Negev Desert. Operating over the past year, the SEDC is producing the world’s highest temperature turbine quality steam from solar energy.
For its technological leadership, BrightSource was selected as a 2009 Technology
Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. The only solar company to win the prestigious award in 2009, BrightSource Energy was recognized for helping global utility and industrial customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by providing clean, low-cost and reliable solar energy.
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About BrightSource Energy, Inc.
BrightSource Energy, Inc. provides clean, reliable and low cost solar energy for utility and industrial companies worldwide. The BrightSource Energy team combines nearly three decades of experience designing, building and operating the world’s largest solar energy plants with world-class project development capabilities. The company now has contracted to sell more than 2.6 gigawatts of power to be generated using its proprietary solar thermal technology. BrightSource Energy’s solar plants are designed to minimize their impact on the environment and help customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., BrightSource Energy is a privately held company with operations in the United States, Israel, and Australia. To learn more about BrightSource Energy and solar thermal energy, visit www.brightsourceenergy.com.
For BrightSource information contact:
Kristin Hunter (415) 281-7161
Hill & Knowlton for BrightSource Energy
kristin.hunter@hillandknowlton.com
http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
275 Clean Energy Jobs Coming To Milwaukee
Wisconsin Department of Commerce: Governor Doyle, Mayor Barrett Welcome Ingeteam Wind Manufacturing Facility to Milwaukee -
Governor Doyle, Mayor Barrett Welcome Ingeteam Wind Manufacturing Facility to Milwaukee
For Immediate Release: February 16, 2010
Contact: Tony Hozeny, Department of Commerce, 608-267-9661
Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
Steve Kwaterski, Office of Mayor Barrett, 414-286-8504
Project will Create 275 Jobs, State Providing $5 Million in Assistance
MADISON - Governor Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett today announced that Ingeteam, a Spanish wind company, will build a $15 million clean energy manufacturing facility in Milwaukee and create 275 jobs. Ingeteam will manufacture wind turbine generators and power converter and control systems for the wind and solar energy industries - combining Wisconsin's strengths in advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
"Ingeteam could have located their facility anywhere in the nation, but they chose Wisconsin because of our aggressive tax incentives, good business climate and our strong cooperation across all levels of government," Governor Doyle said. "The wind industry barely existed in Wisconsin a few years ago, but as we are proving again today, it is a big, growing part of our economy. Anyone who doesn't believe there are jobs in the clean energy economy will be able to walk into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the Menomonee Valley and see hundreds of people in manufacturing jobs putting together generators for wind turbines."
Governor Doyle's budget last year created some of the strongest economic development tools in the country to help businesses create jobs and get people back to work. The Governor's efforts have helped bring businesses like Ingeteam and thousands of new jobs to communities throughout Wisconsin. The Governor has also worked to improve Wisconsin's tax ranking and business climate. Today, the state ranks 30th in business taxes. These economic incentives were integral to the decision of Ingeteam to build in Wisconsin.
Governor Doyle today announced that the state is providing $5 million in assistance for the Ingeteam facility - including a $4.5 million JOBs tax credit and a $500,000 Wisconsin Development Fund loan. Ingeteam has also received $1.66 million in Recovery Act clean-technology manufacturing tax credits and will receive further assistance from the City of Milwaukee. Governor Doyle recognized the hard work of Mayor Barrett, Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation and the Milwaukee-7 in helping bring Ingeteam to Milwaukee.
Since taking office, Governor Doyle has advanced an aggressive agenda to position Wisconsin as a leader in a growing clean energy economy. Four years ago, Wisconsin became one of the first states to enact renewable portfolio standards. As a result, the state has spurred development in biomass, solar and wind. Wisconsin is now one of the leading producers of ethanol in the country and is home to more than 300 companies and thousands of jobs in the wind industry.
Last month, Governor Doyle launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state's clean energy economy and create jobs. The package calls for updating renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of Wisconsin's fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and sets a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015. Building a clean energy economy will help Wisconsin capture energy dollars and create good jobs. A comprehensive economic assessment of the package found that it would directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.
Governor Doyle, Mayor Barrett Welcome Ingeteam Wind Manufacturing Facility to Milwaukee
For Immediate Release: February 16, 2010
Contact: Tony Hozeny, Department of Commerce, 608-267-9661
Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
Steve Kwaterski, Office of Mayor Barrett, 414-286-8504
Project will Create 275 Jobs, State Providing $5 Million in Assistance
MADISON - Governor Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett today announced that Ingeteam, a Spanish wind company, will build a $15 million clean energy manufacturing facility in Milwaukee and create 275 jobs. Ingeteam will manufacture wind turbine generators and power converter and control systems for the wind and solar energy industries - combining Wisconsin's strengths in advanced manufacturing and clean energy.
"Ingeteam could have located their facility anywhere in the nation, but they chose Wisconsin because of our aggressive tax incentives, good business climate and our strong cooperation across all levels of government," Governor Doyle said. "The wind industry barely existed in Wisconsin a few years ago, but as we are proving again today, it is a big, growing part of our economy. Anyone who doesn't believe there are jobs in the clean energy economy will be able to walk into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the Menomonee Valley and see hundreds of people in manufacturing jobs putting together generators for wind turbines."
Governor Doyle's budget last year created some of the strongest economic development tools in the country to help businesses create jobs and get people back to work. The Governor's efforts have helped bring businesses like Ingeteam and thousands of new jobs to communities throughout Wisconsin. The Governor has also worked to improve Wisconsin's tax ranking and business climate. Today, the state ranks 30th in business taxes. These economic incentives were integral to the decision of Ingeteam to build in Wisconsin.
Governor Doyle today announced that the state is providing $5 million in assistance for the Ingeteam facility - including a $4.5 million JOBs tax credit and a $500,000 Wisconsin Development Fund loan. Ingeteam has also received $1.66 million in Recovery Act clean-technology manufacturing tax credits and will receive further assistance from the City of Milwaukee. Governor Doyle recognized the hard work of Mayor Barrett, Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation and the Milwaukee-7 in helping bring Ingeteam to Milwaukee.
Since taking office, Governor Doyle has advanced an aggressive agenda to position Wisconsin as a leader in a growing clean energy economy. Four years ago, Wisconsin became one of the first states to enact renewable portfolio standards. As a result, the state has spurred development in biomass, solar and wind. Wisconsin is now one of the leading producers of ethanol in the country and is home to more than 300 companies and thousands of jobs in the wind industry.
Last month, Governor Doyle launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state's clean energy economy and create jobs. The package calls for updating renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of Wisconsin's fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and sets a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015. Building a clean energy economy will help Wisconsin capture energy dollars and create good jobs. A comprehensive economic assessment of the package found that it would directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
What Companies Will Benefit From $2.3 Billion In New Clean Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits?
The White House has released a list of the companies that will benefit from $2.3 billion in new clean energy manufacturing tax credits under the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The full list may be viewed or downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet by clicking here. It includes the:
The full list may be viewed or downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet by clicking here. It includes the:
- Names of the companies that will receive tax credits
- Amount of the tax credit or credits requested by each company
- Location of each company's headquarters by city and state
- Location of the manufacturing facility that will receive investment by city and state
- A description of each company's proposed investment or investments in clean energy manufacturing
- In order to foster investment and job creation in clean energy manufacturing, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a tax credit for investments in manufacturing facilities for clean energy technologies. The Section 48C program will provide a 30 percent tax credit for investments in 183 manufacturing facilities for clean energy products across 43 states.
- Recovery Act investments of up to $2.3 billion for advanced energy manufacturing facilities will generate more than 17,000 jobs. This investment will be matched by as much as $5.4 billion in private sector funding likely supporting up to 41,000 additional jobs
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