US interior department approves three renewable energy projects totaling 1,100MW capacity

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) has accorded its approval for three renewable energy projects, located in the states of California and Nevada.

The proposed projects total an installed capacity of 1100MW and include – McCoy Solar Energy Project and 150MW Desert Harvest Solar Farm in California and the 200MW Searchlight Wind Energy Project in Nevada.

The approvals were granted as a part of President Barack Obama’s strategy to ramp up the domestic energy production in the country through renewable power sources.

Expected to meet the power requirements of 340,000 homes in those states, the projects will help create 1,000 jobs through construction and operations.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar remarked that the current administration had advanced 37 wind, solar and geothermal projects in the country to be developed on public lands that will cater to 3.8 million American homes.

"These projects are bolstering rural economies by generating good jobs and reliable power and strengthening our national energy security," noted Salazar.

These 37 projects include 20 utility-scale solar facilities, 8 wind farms and 9 geothermal plants totaling over 11,500MW of installed capacity.

The 750MW McCoy Solar Energy Project in Blythe, California is expected to be one of the largest solar projects in the world, spread across 7,700 acres of public land; the Desert Harvest Solar Farm, meanwhile will have an installed capacity of 150MW and will employ efficient single-axis tracking technology.

The 200MW Searchlight Wind Energy Project will come up in the state of Nevada and with the Western Area Power Administration is proposing to construct, operate and maintain a new switching station to connect the project to the existing power grid.

The approved projects are expected to mitigate 800,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per annum while generating tens of millions of dollars of income for the state economies.