Project Focus: CEC grants permission for Solar Millennium Palen plant

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The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved the construction and operation of two solar-thermal power plants with a planned total capacity of some 500MW at the Palen location in California. The second project location, developed by the American project development unit of the Solar Millennium Group, will therefore go ahead as planned. The entire approval procedure is expected to be completed with the decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the beginning of next year.

Oliver Blamberger, CFO of Solar Millennium said, “The partial approval by the California Energy Commission for the Palen location is another important milestone in our U.S. business. On the whole, we have established an excellent starting position in the currently most important market for solar-thermal power plants.”

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Uwe T. Schmidt, CEO of Solar Trust of America said, “With roughly 800 permanent jobs in the operation and several thousands in the construction of our solar-thermal power plants in California and Nevada, new sustainable jobs are being created throughout the American southwest.”

Together with the solar location at Blythe, the locations of the Solar Millennium Group have reached a total a capacity of some 1,500MW in California alone. Initial construction works for the planned power plants have already started at the Blythe location.

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