On July 3, 2010, President Obama<\/a> announced that the Department of Energy is awarding $2 billion in loan guarantees for two solar power projects, as part of the Recovery Act of February 2009.<\/p>\n The first award is to the Spanish company Abengoa Solar , <\/a>which has agreed to build one of the largest solar plants in the world in Arizona\u2014the Solana Generating Station\u2014which will create about 1,600 construction jobs. Over 70 percent of the components and products used in construction will be manufactured in the USA, boosting jobs and communities in states up and down the supply chain. When completed in 2013, the plant will generate enough energy to power 70,000\u00a0homes, while avoiding over 400,000\u00a0tons of greenhouse gases that would otherwise contribute to global warming<\/p>\n The plant will employ a proprietary concentrating solar power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa, and will cover an area of 1,900\u00a0acres. Once completed, the plant will employ 85\u00a0full-time workers. Solar thermal plants use substantially more water for cooling than other thermal-generating technologies. Nevertheless, the Sierra Club<\/a> supports the Solana plant, because it will be built on private land, and use 75 to 85\u00a0percent less water than current agricultural use.<\/p>\n