BrightSource expands Nevada solar thermal project

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Solar thermal power company BrightSource Energy Inc said on Tuesday that it is expanding a land deal in Nevada that could boost the project's power potential to 960 megawatts.

The deal with Coyote Springs Land Co expands a previous agreement that called for sites that could accommodate up to 600 MW of solar thermal power.

The 900-MW project could supply power for BrightSource's contracts with PG&E Corp and Edison International unit Southern California Edison, said Keely Wachs, a spokesman for the company.

Privately held BrightSource last week dropped plans to locate a 500-MW solar thermal project in the Mojave Desert after opposition from environmentalists and a U.S. senator who sought to preserve the surrounding area.

Solar thermal plants use solar heat to create steam that powers a turbine. They are typically much larger than those made up of photovoltaic solar panels, which turn sunlight directly into electricity.

The power generated from the Coyote Springs project, which is on private property near transmission lines, could meet demand in the immediate residential and commercial development of Coyote Springs, southern Nevada and deliver power to California.

"Our intent is to develop a site to meet all these market needs," Wachs said. The company hopes to start construction at Coyote Springs in 2010, he said.

BrightSource is also working on a major project in Ivanpah, California, which is expected to begin construction in 2010.

(Reporting by Laura Isensee; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)