Solar project gets OK for $1.4 billion in US loan guarantees

The Obama administration on Monday gave preliminary approval for $1.4 billion in federal loan guarantees for a sprawling solar-energy project in California's Mojave Desert. The offer from the U.S. Energy Department for Oakland-based BrightSource Energy would support the construction of three solar-energy plants capable of powering 140,000 homes. The project must clear state and federal environmental reviews, and BrightSource must meet other financial requirements before the loan deal can close, the department said. It is the sixth conditional loan guarantee issued by the department for renewable energy development, and the largest so far for solar...read more