The Biden administration on Monday said it has affirmed a major solar energy project in the California desert that will be fit for controlling almost 90,000 homes.
The $550 million Crimson Solar Project will be sited on 2,000 acres of government land west of Blythe, California, the Interior Department said in a statement. It is being created by Canadian Solar (CSIQ.O) unit Recurrent Energy and will deliver power to California utility Southern California Edison.
The declaration comes as President Joe Biden has promised to extend advancement of renewable energy projects on public lands as part of a more extensive plan to battle environmental change, make jobs and reverse former President Donald Trump’s emphasis on amplifying fossil fuel extraction.
“Projects like this can help to make America a global leader in the clean energy economy through the acceleration of responsible renewable energy development on public lands,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in the statement.
Crimson Solar will make 650 construction jobs however only 10 permanent and 40 temporary jobs in operations and maintenance for the 30-year life of the project, the statement said.
The project will incorporate a battery storage system and will be sited on land assigned for renewable energy development by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, an agreement incubated between the state of California and the Obama organization that put away territories for wind and solar projects.