Area Development
BrightSource Energy has broken ground on a Solar Electric Generating System in Ivanpah, California. The $2 billion project is the first of its kind to be built on federal land, and will create more than 1,000 jobs.

"The construction of this renewable energy plant is great news for our state, and further proof that it is possible to both protect the environment and grow the economy," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The facility will produce 370 megawatts of clean energy each year at full capacity. Once completed, it will nearly double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in the United States, BrightSource says.

The Bureau of Land Management and the California Energy Commission are jointly processing the project. It will produce enough energy to power more than 140,000 homes.