The developers of the proposed 1,000 MW Blythe solar project announced they were converting half the facility to photovoltaic technology in place of solar troughs. “Solar Millennium responds quickly and pragmatically to market conditions, and at the moment the California market favors PV technology,” Christoph Wolff, Solar Millennium chief executive officer, stated Aug. 18. The German-based company, with offices also in Oakland, CA, and Cleveland, OH, is known for its concentrated solar projects. Solar Millennium and its U.S. subsidiary Solar Trust also said they were foregoing a $2.1 billion DOE loan guarantee. Instead, they plan to seek private financing for the photovoltaic development, a technology that is new to them. “Management was not able to execute on the scale required,” said V. John White, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology executive director. He warned that regulators and utilities “are being seduced by the siren song of low cost value” of PV. White noted that the choice of renewable energy technology also should include the value of the resource in terms of its impact on the energy portfolio and system. Photovoltaics use less water and require less-intensive grading. The change in the technology likely is to require re-permitting.
