Pahrump Valley Times

Residents will have the opportunity to attend two different events for the Hidden Hills solar project, a 500-megawatt plant planned on 3,200 acres on the Tecopa Road just across the California state line.

The California Energy Commission will hold a prehearing conference on their final staff assessment of the Hidden Hills project at noon Tuesday at the Tecopa Community Center. That will assess the readiness of parties for the evidentiary hearings. The committee will review the project, identify areas of agreement or dispute and discuss the schedule and procedures needed to conclude the certification process.

The Kern River Gas Transmission Company has scheduled an open house from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Bob Ruud Community Center in Pahrump on their plans to construct a 33-mile, 12-inch diameter, natural gas pipeline from their main line near Goodsprings to the BrightSource Energy project. The pipeline would provide a consistent supply of natural gas for the power plants when the sun isn’t shining.

The solar project, on 3,277 acres of private land known as the Hidden Hills Ranch, would include 85,000 heliostats, which resemble large mirrors, focusing solar energy on a 750-foot power tower near the center of each of two solar fields.

BrightSource Energy, the company that is building the Ivanpah solar project just across the California state line from Primm, Nev. off Interstate 15, is the company that wants to build this project.

The capital cost for the project is estimated at $2.2 billion. If approved, construction would start the second quarter of this year and be completed by the end of 2015. An average of 1,087 workers will be employed during construction with a peak of 2,293 workers in the 19th month. After completion 100 workers will be needed to operate the plant.

Evidentiary hearings have been scheduled by the CEC from March 12 to March 15 at the Death Valley Academy Gymnasium in Shoshone, Calif. The hearings are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. each day.