Solar Millenium (subsidiary of Solar Trust of America) announced an important milestone for the company's 242 MW Blythe solar power project, which will be using parabolic trough CSP technology. This project is just one of four 242 MW projects the company is hoping to get development permissions for in the Riverside County, California. The project has now officially been recommended for approval by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) already approved a power purchase agreement (PPA) between Solar Millenium and Southern California Edison for two 242 MW solar power plants to be developed near Blythe. The PPA's pertain to a 20-year period.

If Solar Millenium eventually gets approvals for all four projects, California could be looking at almost a gigawatt of new clean power capacity in the near future.

[source: Solar Millenium]