Solar firm seeks speedy review of plan

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a strong supporter of the solar industry.

LOS ANGELES - A company backed by investors linked to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pressing regulators to speed up a review of its proposed $2 billion solar-energy complex, warning that delays would send a "chilling signal" to the emerging green power industry.

But the California Energy Commission staff opposes the move, depicting it as an end run that could break apart a precedent-setting review of the planned solar site near the Mojave Desert Preserve.

At the center of the dispute is a project widely viewed as a potential breakthrough in large-scale US solar development.

BrightSource Energy is seeking permission to build three solar-power plants on nearly 6 square miles of US land along the Nevada line, the first ever on Bureau of Land Management property. The project is one of dozens seeking to claim more than 1,000 square miles of US land in California for solar-power generation. It has the potential to be the first large-scale solar plant on BLM property.

A Schwarzenegger relative, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his former environmental secretary, are part of a private investment group that could score a lucrative payoff if regulators approve the BrightSource complex.

Both are senior advisers for VantagePoint Venture Partners, which has a multimillion-dollar stake in BrightSource. The connections have raised questions about possible favorable treatment for a project; the company has called the joint state-federal review transparent.

The governor's office says he is not involved with the proposal or its investors.

ASSOCIATED PRESS