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http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/solar/solar-millennium-says-palen-project-will-provide-%e2%80%98economic-impulse%e2%80%99-to-south-west-us-states.html

Solar Millennium, the developer behind the world’s largest solar thermal project at Blythe in California, anticipates that the construction of the project combined with its newly-approved Palen solar thermal project, will provide a ‘significant economical impulse’ for southwest US states.

Provided its 500MW Palen project gains federal land approval early next year, the solar thermal project developer will own and operate 1.5GW of electricity generation in California alone.
The developer also revealed that it has 2GW of additional solar thermal capacity planned around the globe, with a focus on Spain, the US, India, China, the Middle East and North Africa.
Adding to the 1GW Blythe project that it began constructing since securing full approval earlier this year, Solar Millennium is expecting the Palen project to receive planning approval from the US Bureau of Land Management in early 2011.
The Blythe project is the largest solar thermal project worldwide to have secured all the relevant licences for construction, with dimensions approaching that of a large nuclear or coal plant. Both the Palen and Blythe solar thermal projects feature dry cooling rather than water-reliant cooling, thereby reducing water consumption compared with water-cooled plants.
Solar Millennium CFO Oliver Blamberger said, ‘The partial approval by the California Energy Commission for the Palen location is another important milestone in our US business.
‘On the whole, we have established an excellent starting position in what is currently the most important market for solar thermal power plants.’
Solar Millennium said it strives to increase its solar thermal plant expertise, with the aim of achieving and securing leadership in the niche field. The company said it covers all aspects of the solar thermal power production value chain in order to achieve this, from project development and financing, to the turnkey construction and operation plants.
Solar Trust of America CEO Uwe Schmidt said, ‘With roughly 800 permanent jobs in the operation and several thousands in the construction of our solar-thermal power plants in California and Nevada, new sustainable jobs are being created throughout the American southwest.’
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Solar Trust of America, Solar Millennium is the US project development business within the Solar Millennium Group. The company lays claim to developing Europe’s first parabolic trough power plants.