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A worker installs a solar panel module at the Imperial Solar Energy Center South project near Seeley on Tuesday. (JOSELITO VILLERO PHOTO / February 12, 2013) |
Construction of a 950-acre solar energy generation facility is more than half finished, and with it more than 300 local construction jobs.
However, there may be enough solar construction in the queue to keep locals busy for several more years.
Tenaska’s Imperial Solar Energy Center South project is situated south of El Centro and a stone’s throw from the Mexico border on farmland that was converted to industrial use.
Installation of the millionth solar panel of some 1.8 million panels is just around the corner, site superintendent Tom Reiley said. Although the project was not without controversy, it was lauded for hiring some 70 percent of its 500-person construction workforce locally.
“We do our best to hire qualified local workers where we’re building,” said Alex Martin, community affairs program manager for First Solar. “Approximately 560 Imperial County residents are working at Tenaska sites — mostly construction, doing structural work.”
Tenaska Solar Venture’s Director of Development Robert Ferrara emphasized that another project near Mt. Signal, known as Campo Verde, is hiring qualified construction personnel.
“They’re looking forward to using the trained workers (from Imperial Solar Energy South),” he said.
The Campo Verde solar project is expected to create some 250 jobs and be completed by the end of the year.
Additionally, Tenaska is hoping to begin construction of the Imperial Solar Energy West project near Dunaway Road and Interstate 8, Ferrara said. Construction of this 150-megawatt project is expected to take several years, he said.
The hundreds of rows of solar panels that make up the 130-megawatt Solar Energy Center South will send electricity to San Diego. It, and other solar projects on the south end of the Valley, is controversial because it bypasses the Imperial Irrigation District’s system to connect to San Diego.
The IID is weighing the benefits and possible implications of a partial participating transmission ownership status with the California Independent System Operators, which should, according to officials, give the IID a measure of control in how these projects interconnect to the Imperial Valley Substation.
IID spokeswoman Marion Champion said the district is trying to promote renewable energy without harming the IID.
“We are trying to promote this growth while protecting our balancing authority and do our best for all ratepayers,” she said.
Staff Writer Antoine Abou-Diwan can be reached at 760-337-3454 or aabou-diwan@ivpressonline.com
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