(Reuters) - Private solar power company BrightSource Energy's proposed 500-megawatt (MW) Rio Mesa solar power plant in southeast California has won a preliminary recommendation from the staff of the state's energy regulator.
The California Energy Commission said in a release late on Friday that its staff had found the solar project, estimated to cost $2 billion, would comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, regulation and standards and the environmental impacts would be less than significant.
The staff, however, said some issues still needed to be resolved, including geology and paleontology, soil and surface water, traffic and transportation, transmission system engineering, water supply and visual resources.
