State solar power plans are as big as all outdoors

It has set up a manufacturing facility in Nevada that will supply a 177-megawatt solar plant planned for a site near Carrizo Plain National Monument in eastern San Luis Obispo County. The facility's mirrors will occupy a full square mile of terrain. The project is still in the permitting process. Ausra has never tried something on this scale. But Pacific Gas & Electric is confident enough that it has agreed to buy the power from Carrizo to help it meet its green energy needs.

Other companies looking to shine in California with utility-scale plants include Solel Inc., whose proposed 553-megawatt project in the Mojave Desert would span nine square miles; BrightSource Energy Inc. of Oakland; SunPower Corp. of San Jose; OptiSolar Inc. of Hayward, Calif.; Stirling Energy Systems Inc. of Phoenix; and FPL Energy of Juno Beach, Fla.

"Climate change is the greatest challenge that mankind has ever faced," said Peter Darbee, president and chief executive of Pacific Gas & Electric and head of its parent, San Francisco-based PG&E Corp. "It's imperative to seek out the most cost-effective solutions."

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marla.dickerson@latimes.com

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A bright future?

About 80 utility-scale solar projects are being proposed in California. Here are some of the ones furthest along in the development process.

AUSRA INC.

Technology: Compact linear Fresnel reflectors

Capacity: 177 megawatts

County: San Luis Obispo

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SOLEL INC.

Technology: Parabolic trough

Capacity: 553 megawatts

County: San Bernardino

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BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY INC.

Technology: Power tower

Capacity: 400 megawatts

County: San Bernardino

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SUNPOWER CORP.

Technology: Crystalline silicon photovoltaic

Capacity: 250 megawatts

County: San Luis Obispo

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OPTISOLAR INC.

Technology: Thin-film photovoltaic

Capacity: 550 megawatts

County: San Luis Obispo

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STIRLING ENERGY SYSTEMS INC.

Technology: Solar thermal dish

Capacity: 850 megawatts

County: San Bernardino

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STIRLING ENERGY SYSTEMS INC.

Technology: Solar thermal dish

Capacity: 900 megawatts

County: Imperial

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FPL ENERGY

Technology: Parabolic trough

Capacity: 250 megawatts County: Kern

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Source: Times research