Developer Projections for Proposed Facilities
Solar developers are also predicting the employment impacts of their proposed facilities. Employment projections are available from a variety of sources, including developer web sites, facility Applications for Certification (AFCs), Environmental Impact Statements, and California Energy Commission Final Staff Assessments. Table 1 summarizes the findings for 14 proposed facilities, including three photovoltaic (PV) facilities.
The concentrating solar power (CSP) facilities reviewed for this study expect to create 0.83 to 4.65 peak construction jobs per megawatt (MW). Generally, this figure declines slightly as the size of the facility increases. CSP facilities are expected to create 0.18 to 0.34 operation and maintenance (O&M) jobs per MW. Nevada Solar One had greater employment impacts during both construction and operation than are predicted for any of these facilities. PV facilities are expected to create 0.91 to 1.3 peak construction jobs per MW and 0.05 to 0.09 operation and maintenance jobs per MW.
| Project Name | Technology | MW | Construction jobs (peak) | Construction jobs/MW | O&M jobs | O&M jobs/MW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Solar Energy Project | CSP | 150 | 438 | 2.92 | 47 | 0.31 |
| Beacon Solar Energy Project | CSP | 250 | 836 | 3.34 | 66 | 0.26 |
| Abengoa Mojave Solar Project | CSP | 250 | 1162 | 4.65 | 68 | 0.27 |
| Solar Millennium Ridgecrest | CSP | 250 | 633 | 2.53 | 84 | 0.34 |
| Genesis Solar | CSP | 250 | 1085 | 4.34 | 45 | 0.18 |
| Agua Caliente (if built with CSP) | CSP | 280 | 1000 | 3.57 | 50 | 0.18 |
| Solar Partners Ivanpah SEGS | CSP | 400 | 637 | 1.59 | 90 | 0.23 |
| Solar Millennium Palen | CSP | 484 | 1141 | 2.36 | 134 | 0.28 |
| Imperial Valley Solar Project (Formerly SES Solar Two Project) | CSP | 750 | 731 | 0.97 | 164 | 0.22 |
| Calico Solar Project (Formerly SES Solar One Project) | CSP | 850 | 703 | 0.83 | 180 | 0.21 |
| Solar Millennium Blythe | CSP | 1000 | 1000 | 1 | 221 | 0.22 |
| Agua Caliente (if built with PV) | PV | 330 | 300-400 | 0.91-1.21 | 15-20 | 0.05-0.06 |
| Lucerne Valley Solar Project | PV | 45 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0.07 |
| Solar Ranch One | PV | 230 | 300 | 1.3 | 20 |
0.09 |
| Nevada Solar One | CSP | 64 | 800-1300 | 12.5-20.31 | 28-32 | 0.44-0.5 |
It is interesting to compare the results of the funded research studies with the developer predictions. Unfortunately, differences in units prevent a comparison of construction job creation. Considering operation and maintenance jobs, the four research studies reviewed for this analysis generally predict more job creation per MW of nameplate capacity than do the solar developers. Study estimates are in line with the actual number of operation and maintenance jobs created by Nevada Solar One. Map 1 shows predicted job impacts for five proposed CSP facilities.
