SolarReserve has received an offer of a conditional commitment for a $737m loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy for the construction of its 110MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada, US.

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has approved the construction and operation of the facility on public land in December 2010.

The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is expected to generate electricity sufficient to power 75,000 homes.

Under a long-term power purchase agreement approved by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission in 2010, NV Energy will buy the power generated from the plant.

Construction on the project is set to begin this year and the plant will become operational in late 2013.