U.S. Department of the Interior approves 370MW Ivanpah CSP plant

In the latest in a series of regulatory approvals for large concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in California's Mojave Desert, on October 7, 2010 the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved BrightSource Energy Inc.'s (Oakland, California, US) Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. The Ivanpah project consists of three plants using solar power tower designs for a total of 370MW, and is the third large solar project approved by the DOI this week, for a total of 1.12GW. The California Energy Commission approved the project on September 22, 2010, and developers may now proceed with construction.