BrightSource casts successful bid for bankrupt Solar Trust’s 500MW Palen project

June 22, 2012
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Solar thermal project developer BrightSource Energy has placed the top bid for Palen, a 500MW solar thermal plant, at a Delaware auction of property of Solar Trust of America, which went bankrupt in April this year. The as-yet unbuilt solar thermal plant is said to have been bought by BrightSource for an unconfirmed amount of up to US$30 million.

On June 15, the court voiced its approval of BrightSource as a stalking-horse bidder – a setter of a bid benchmark below which other bids are not accepted – for the 500MW plant, and although the final bid amount was not confirmed, Bloomberg’s report on the news claims that the agreed price could well be in the region of US$30 million.
 
The sale will be subject to an approval hearing process on June 27.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Palen is one of three large-scale plants that will be sold off following Solar Trust’s bankruptcy proceedings. The other two projects up for sale are the 1GW Blythe project in Riverside County, California, which is fully permitted and has grid interconnection rights, and a 500MW plant in Amargosa Valley, Nevada that is still in the planning stage.

Read Next

January 20, 2026
The European Commission has released its proposal to revise its Cybersecurity Act (CSA), which includes provisions to exclude “high-risk” companies and components from European supply chains.
January 20, 2026
Radial Power has secured US$355 million from Goldman Sachs for 214MW of distributed solar across 106 projects nationwide.
January 20, 2026
Sentiment among Europe’s solar buyers dropped to the lowest levels on record at the end of 2025, according to sun.store's pv.index report.
January 20, 2026
INDIA ROUND-UP: Hartek Power, Waaree Energies, Kosol Energie and IREDA secured major solar and renewable energy deals, including EPC contracts, multi-gigawatt module orders, multi-billion-dollar investments, and international project financing.
January 20, 2026
The Colombian government has announced a grid expansion plan which it says will facilitate up to 6GW of new clean energy capacity in the country’s Caribbean region.
January 20, 2026
CleanPeak Energy has completed the acquisition of five solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) development sites in New South Wales from Fortitude Renewables, adding 25MW of solar capacity and 100MWh of battery storage to its portfolio.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
April 15, 2026
Milan, Italy
Solar Media Events
June 16, 2026
Napa, USA
Solar Media Events
October 13, 2026
San Francisco Bay Area, USA