SolarReserve has secured a conditional commitment for a $737m loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy for the 110MW Crescent Dunes solar energy project to be built in Nevada,US.
The facility will include a 640ft tall solar power structure and a molten salt-based collection and storage system which will capture and focus the sun’s thermal energy with as many as 17,500 heliostats.
Construction on the solar thermal project in in Tonopah,is slated to begin this year and the start of operations in late 2013.
Upon completion, the Crescent Dunes project is expected to provide electricity to approximately 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods.
The company will sell the solar power generated by the project to NV Energy through a long-term power purchase agreement approved by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission in 2010.
SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes project was approved by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to construct and operate the facility on public land in December 2010.