LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Obama administration has given preliminary approval for $1.4 billion in loan guarantees for a massive solar-energy project in California's Mojave Desert.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Monday that BrightSource Energy was in line for the financing help to build solar-energy plants to power 140,000 homes.
The federal agency will consider the project's likelihood of being completed and the Oakland-based company's ability to repay loans before making a final decision.
Environmentalists want the complex relocated because they say it will harm protected desert tortoises. BrightSource has made design changes in an attempt to alleviate environmental concerns.
