Il s'agit du plus grand projet solaire du monde. Une puissance installée égale à celle d'1,3 réacteur nucléaire classique et presque égale à celle d'un réacteur EPR (1500 à 1600 MW)...La technologie utilisée est celle du solaire à concentration thermodynamique (rien à voir avec le solaire photovoltaïque). Il ne s'agit pas d'un vague projet, le contrat est signé entre Bright Source Energy et Southern California Edison. La centrale sera construite en 7 unités d'environ 185 MW chacune. Comme indiqué dans la video BrightSource, de quoi produire de l'électricité complètement propre pour alimenter 400 000 voitures électriques et de réduire ainsi massivement la pollution atmosphérique ! Cela tombe bien, la Califonie vient de signer avec l'opérateur de mobilité verte BetterPlace il y a quelques semaines ( http://www.betterplace.com/california ). Al Gore / Obama au pouvoir, cela a vraiment du bon ! Les USA sont à présent dans une nouvelle dynamique, celle du Green Business - BrightSource a aussi signé, entre autre, avec PGE...Ce sont au total 4000 MW thermosolaires qui sont dans le e-pipeline de BrightSource ! A noter que BrightSource fait appel a du air cooling (refroidissement sec), ce qui réduit de 80% la consommation d'eau douce au niveau du système de refroidissement de la centrale. La France, qui était leader dans le domaine il y a 40 ans, a vraiment perdu du temps. Quel gâchis !  - O.D.

Southern California Edison & BrightSource Ink Gargantuan Solar Power Deal - The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is planned for the desert outside Los Angeles, according to a new deal between the utility Southern California Edison and solar power plant maker, BrightSource. The momentous deal will deliver more electricity than even the largest nuclear plant, spread out among seven facilities, the first of which will start up in 2013. When fully operational, the companies say the facility will provide enough electricity to power 845,000 homes — more than exist in San Francisco — though estimates like that are notoriously squirrely.  (...)

http://planet.betterplace.com/profiles/blogs/southern-california-edison-amp

2008:

  www.brightsourceenergy.com

Communiqué: http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/BSE_SCE_Final_020909.pdf

NOTE: There will be a call-in press conference on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Journalists will be able to interview SCE and BrightSource Energy executives. For instructions, please send an email to vanessa.mcgrady@sce.com or kwachs@brightsourceenergy.com . Fact sheets and photos are available in the online press room at www.edisonnews.com/solar.

FINAL: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCE Media Contact: Vanessa McGrady, 

BrightSource Energy Media Contact: Keely Wachs

Southern California Edison and BrightSource Energy Sign World’s Largest

Solar Deal Agreement for 1,300 Megawatts of Clean and Reliable Solar Thermal Power

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Feb. 11, 2009 — BrightSource Energy have reached agreement on a series of contracts for 1,300 megawatts of clean solar thermal power, enough to serve nearly 845,000 homes. “These contracts represent a significant addition to our renewable portfolio, which is already the nation’s largest.” said Stuart Hemphill, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power. “This innovative solar technology helps to further our position as the nation’s largest purchaser of solar energy, as well.” “This landmark agreement illustrates the increasing demand for solar thermal energy as aSouthern California Edison (SCE) and reliable source of utility-scale renewable power,” said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource Energy. “We look forward to working with Southern California Edison to provide clean, reliable and cost-competitive solar energy.” The agreement, which now requires approval from the California Public Utilities

BrightSource Energy’s technology

BrightSource Energy’s proprietary Luz Power Tower 550 (LPT 550) energy system is built on proven “power tower” technology. The system uses thousands of small mirrors called heliostats to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine which generates electricity. In order to conserve precious desert water, the LPT 550 system uses air-cooling to convert the steam back into water.

The water is then returned to the boiler in an environmentally-friendly closed cycle. This fully integrated energy system is designed to offer the highest operating efficiencies and lowest capital costs in the industry. For its technological leadership, BrightSource Energy was recently selected as a 2009  Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. The only solar company to win this year’s prestigious award, 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.

“The efficiency advancements found in the LPT 550 system reflect our technical team’s nearly three decades of experience pioneering solar thermal technology,” said Tom Doyle, senior vice president of project development for BrightSource Energy. “We have combined this engineering experience with world-class development capabilities to help our customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.”

SCE leads the nation in renewables

SCE is currently the nation’s leading purchaser of renewable energy and, in 2007, bought more than 80 percent of the solar energy produced in the United States for its customers. Also in 2007, the utility purchased about 12.5 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy, which comprises about 16 percent of SCE’s total energy portfolio. SCE currently has sufficient contracts in place that, when delivering, will meet 20 percent or more of its customers’ energy needs with renewable energy.

SCE also recently signed two wind-energy contracts. One agreement, with Puget Sound Energy signed in January, calls for 2 billion kilowatt-hours over the next two years. The projects are located in Columbia and Kittitas counties in Washington state. The other, with AES Mountainview, calls for 66.6 megawatts from a wind farm in the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs. This 10-year contract was signed in November 2008.

In addition, SCE launched an expanded standard contract program, which is available for all renewable technologies of 20 megawatts or less. This program is designed to help smaller renewable generators contribute to reaching California’s aggressive renewable energy and environmental goals. This program provides a faster, simpler way for renewable projects under 20 megawatts to sell their power to utility customers.

The current renewables portfolio includes:

· 1,137 megawatts from wind.

· 906 megawatts from geothermal.

· 356 megawatts from solar.

· 185 megawatts from biomass.

· 332 megawatts from small hydro.

For more about SCE’s renewable energy program, visit www.sce.com/renewables.

About Bright Source Energy

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 up to 2,200 megawatts of power to be generated using its proprietary solar thermal technology. BrightSource Energy’s solar plants lead the industry in environmental design and help customers

About Southern California Edison

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is the largest electric utility in California, serving a population of more than 13 million via 4.8 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern

California.

-###-, (510) 250-8153(626) 302-2255 reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., BrightSource Energy is a privately held company with operations in the United States and Israel. To learn more about BrightSource Energy and solar thermal energy, visit www.brightsourceenergy.com.
ommission, calls for a series of seven projects totaling 1,300 megawatts. The first of these solar power plants, sized at 100 megawatts and located in Ivanpah, Calif., could be operating in early 2013 and is expected to produce 286,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year. BrightSource will build and place in commercial operation each of its plants as quickly as permitting and infrastructure allow. The full 1,300 megawatts of projects will produce 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy and avoid more than two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually – the equivalent of removing more than 335,000 cars from the road.