What is Ivanpah?

Ivanpah Overview

Located on 3,600 acres of U.S. BLM managed land in southeastern California, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) is a 392 megawatt (gross) solar thermal power facility developed by BrightSource Energy.

Ivanpah, which started construction in October 2010, is the first project to deliver power to serve BrightSource’s signed contracts with PG&E and Southern California Edison.

Utilizing BrightSource Energy’s LPT solar thermal technology, the project combines BrightSource’s innovative solar technology with conventional power components to produce clean, reliable power at scale.

Ivanpah is also designed to maximize the economic benefits for California’s High Desert community.  In December 2009, BrightSource Energy’s engineering partner, 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 provide qualified, skilled craft workers for the Ivanpah project.  In addition to providing good jobs, the project will also result in significant state and local tax revenues.

Project Overview:

  • A 392 megawatt (gross) solar complex using mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers atop power towers.
  • The complex is comprised of three separate plants to be built in phases between 2010 and 2013, and will use BrightSource Energy’s LPT solar thermal technology.
  • The electricity generated by all three plants is enough to serve more than 140,000 homes in California during the peak hours of the day.
  • The project will provide power to Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Economic Benefits

  • Approximately 1,400 jobs at peak of construction; average 650 jobs annually over three year period
  • 86 operations and maintenance jobs
  • $250 million in total construction wages
  • $650 million in total employee earnings over the plant lifecycle
  • $300 million in state and local tax revenues

Environmental Benefits

  • 13.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided over the plant’s 30-year life
  • Features dry-cooling technology, which allows the project to reduce water usage by more than 90% over competing solar thermal technologies using conventional wet cooling systems.
  • Water is recirculated during energy production, and then reused to clean mirrors
  • Project is sited near existing roads and transmission lines, in an area next to a 36-hole golf course, casinos and a natural gas power plant
  • Low-impact design and technology enables us to avoid sensitive habitat and allows for vegetation to coexist underneath and around our mirrors. It also reduces the need for extensive land grading and the need for concrete pads used by other technologies.

BrightSource Energy’s LPT Solar Thermal Technology

When operational, Ivanpah will produce electricity the same way that most of the world’s electricity is produced—by creating high-temperature steam to turn a conventional turbine.  However, instead of burning fossil fuels to create the steam, we use the clean and infinite sun as fuel.

Ivanpah features BrightSource Energy’s proprietary LPT technology in which thousands of software-controlled mirrors track the sun in two dimensions and reflect the sunlight to a boiler that sits atop a tower. When the concentrated sunlight strikes the boiler’s pipes, it heats the water to create superheated steam. This high-temperature steam is then piped from the boiler to a standard turbine where electricity is generated. From here, transmission lines carry the power to homes and businesses.

Labor-friendly Project

In December 2009, BrightSource Energy’s engineering partner, 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 provide qualified, skilled craft workers for the Ivanpah project.

World-class Partners

In addition to supplying power to California’s two largest utilities—PG&E and Southern California Edison—the Ivanpah project brings together some of the world’s most respected names in energy and engineering. Leading power generation company NRG Energy will join BrightSource in the construction, ownership, and operation of Ivanpah, investing up to $300 million over the next three years. Google has also joined as an equity partner with an investment of $168 million.  BrightSource has partnered with Bechtel as the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractor at Ivanpah. The Ivanpah project has received a $1.6 billion loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to serve as the debt for this project. We have also begun procuring equipment for the Ivanpah complex from some of the world’s leading manufacturers.  To date, we’ve signed agreements with Siemens for the largest ever solar-powered steam turbine generator, and with Riley Power Inc., a subsidiary of Babcock Power Inc., for three solar boilers.