WASHINGTON, April 19 (UPI) -- A loan guarantee for a California solar energy project will help realize White House ambitions of advancing a clean economy, the state's governor said.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced his department was offering a conditional $2.1 billion loan to support two units at the Blythe Solar Power Project in California.
Two units at the plant will combine to produce 484 megawatts of renewable energy, avoiding more than 710,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
Chu said loan guarantees like the one for California shows the U.S. government is committed to making solar power an efficient part of the country's energy mix.
"California is the national leader in clean energy and our great state is poised to become the world leader in renewable energy generation," said California Gov. Jerry Brown. "I commend President (Barack) Obama and Secretary Chu for making another major investment in California."
The first two units at the Blythe project are part of a larger facility that will eventually generate as much as 1,000 MW of solar power.
