BrightSource lands Google as investor in Fed-backed project
Oakland-based BrightSource Energy says it has raised all the money it needs — thanks to new investors including Google — to meet its government-backed loan guarantee commitments and build its first large-scale solar thermal power plants in the Mojave Desert.
The startup was awarded $1.6 billion in loan guarantees from the federal government but had to meet certain financial milestones to claim the money.
Google will invest "up to" $168 million in the project, BrightSource said today.
NRG Solar had previously committed to investing "up to" $300 million.
BrightSource has developed technology that produces power from harnessing the sun's heat. On huge swaths of land in sunny areas, BrightSource erects thousands of mirrors that direct the sun's rays onto a tower that holds a large tank filled with liquid. The heated liquid turns to steam that turns steam turbines to produce power.
The Ivanpah project is expected to be completed, and producing power in 2013.
Read more in the San Francisco Business Times.
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