Chevron and Irish renewable-energy developer NTR PLC have been given approval by the U.S. government to construct the first two solar-power facilities to be built on federal public land in California. NTR unit Tessera Solar will use large dishes lined with curved mirrors to track the sun and beam solar energy onto a device to generate electricity in its 709MW solar-thermal power plant in California’s remote Imperial Valley. Chevron has plans to build a 45MW solar-panel facility in San Bernardino County. Revenue of over USD 1 billion is expected to be generated for California’s economy while providing electricity for up to 500,000 homes.