174 Power Global, Corp., a California-based subsidiary of South Korean company Hanwha, plans to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a utility-scale photovoltaic solar facility (800 megawatts) on 4,654 acres of BLM-administered public land in southeastern La Paz County.  While the proposed site is likely within view of I-10 about midway between the Phoenix metro area and the California border, it is not near any sizable community.  The BLM held a public meeting in Quartzsite, West of the map image above, on February 19th.

The site, just south of Interstate 10, is close to a recently approved but still-to-be-constructed substation and a new 'Ten West Link' transmission line. The proposed project is still in the early stages. It must be approved by the BLM, then go through an environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act process, before it can be fully approved and construction can begin.  The location is ideal for selling the energy into both the Arizona and California markets.

Hanwha Q Cells recently opened the largest solar factory in the Western Hemisphere. The 300,000 square foot factory in Dalton, Georgia has the capacity to produce 12,000 PV modules per day, or 1.7 GW annually – the same peak generating capacity as the Hoover Dam. This project will use about half the annual production of the new plant.