Department of Energy offered a conditional commitment for a $2.1bn loan guarantee to support Units 1 and 2 of the Blythe Solar Power Project, sponsored by Solar Trust of America. The concentrating solar thermal power plant includes two units comprising a combined 484 MW generating capacity, a transmission line and associated infrastructure. The project will be built adjacent to the City of Blythe in Riverside County (California). Units 1 and 2 of the Blythe project represent the first phase of a larger project that, when completed, will generate 1,000 MW of solar power using parabolic trough technology. The project will be the first concentrating solar power (CSP) parabolic trough plant to use an air-cooled condenser unit, which will decrease water use by nearly 90% compared with a water-cooled CSP facility. The project will sell all of its electricity output to Southern California Edison and will deliver power into the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) power grid.