The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a DOE loan guarantee recipient, won 2014 Plant of the Year from POWER Magazine.
August 8, 2014
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In February, I travelled with Secretary Moniz to southern California for the dedication of the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant that received a $1.9 billion loan guarantee from the Department’s Loan Programs Office (LPO). Witnessing thousands of mirrors focusing the power of the sun on 479-foot towers to generate clean electricity is an impressive sight to see firsthand.
I’m not the only one who was impressed. This week, Ivanpah became the first renewable project to be named Plant of the Year by POWER Magazine, which has been covering the power generation industry for more than 131 years. The project was cited for a number of first-of-a-kind construction elements, as well as being the largest solar thermal plant in the world, the first large-scale solar project to use power tower technology and the largest renewable project funded to date by LPO.
Helping to finance projects like Ivanpah, which represent some of the first and largest uses of innovative technology in the United States, is at the core of LPO’s mission. Looking forward, LPO hopes to help finance additional projects that could contend for future Plant of the Year awards. Just last month, LPO issued a $4 billion solicitation for renewable energy and efficient energy projects to go along with its $8 billion advanced fossil energy projects solicitation.
Playing a role in an award-winning project is certainly an honor for LPO. But more importantly, it shows that investing in American energy is paying off with the deployment of innovative technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Peter W. Davidson
Peter W. Davidson served as Executive Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy from May 2013 to June 2015. Mr. Davidson oversaw the program’s more than $30 billion portfolio of clean energy and advanced vehicle loans and loan guarantees, making it the largest project finance organization in the U.S. government. Mr. Davidson was responsible for ensuring that the LPO carries out its mission to accelerate the deployment of innovative clean energy projects and domestic advanced vehicle manufacturing. By providing debt capital to a broad range of renewable energy, advanced fossil energy, and nuclear energy projects, as well as advanced vehicle manufacturing facilities, the LPO is supporting economic development across the U.S., promoting an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Prior to leading the LPO, Mr. Davidson was Senior Advisor for Energy and Economic Development at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and was the Executive Director of New York State’s economic development agency, the Empire State Development Corporation. Prior to his government service, Mr. Davidson was an entrepreneur who founded and managed six companies in Spanish language and other niche markets, broadcasting, publishing, marketing and digital preferred services. Early in his career he was an executive in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley & Co.
Since 2001, Mr. Davidson has also been Chairman of the JM Kaplan Fund, a New York City based philanthropic organization. Under his leadership, grant making has focused on reducing New York City’s carbon footprint; supporting immigrant integration in the U.S. and archeological conservation world-wide.
Mr. Davidson has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.