Sempra Generation yesterday received unanimous approval from the Kern County Board of Supervisors to construct a new photovoltaic solar power plant in California's Antelope Valley.
Sempra Generation is a unit of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE).
Located in the high desert about 90 miles north of Los Angeles, Rosamond Solar will generate up to 200 megawatts (MW) or enough electricity to power about 76,000 average homes for a year.
"California remains a strategic focus for Sempra Generation as we
continue to grow our portfolio of solar and wind power projects in the
Western U.S.," said Jeffrey W. Martin, president and chief executive officer of Sempra Generation.
Sempra Generation anticipates breaking ground on Rosamond Solar in 2012 with completion targeted for 2013. The project will create approximately 300 construction jobs and up to eight new long-term solar jobs to operate the facility.
Rosamond Solar will be built on privately owned, former agricultural land near an existing major transmission line corridor.
This is Sempra Generation's fourth utility-scale solar power project. The company expects to complete construction on the largest planned photovoltaic solar facility in the U.S. later this year in Boulder City, Nev., and recently announced plans to launch the first phase of a 600-MW photovoltaic solar project outside Phoenix in 2011.
