California has massive penetration of distributed solar to the point that solar supply exceeds total grid demand much of the time, making the marginal value of additional solar generation very low.

Which is a pretty big difference when comparing viability of utility solar installations in California to anywhere else in the country.

And I assume the particular California plant you are talking about is the big solar thermal/natural gas hybrid plant that was being built just as the big price drop in photovoltaics essentially made it obsolete, which barring unexpected breakthroughs on some competing technology, is a big difference from any not-already-obsolete system being considered now.

Well for starters, Ivanpah Solar Power Facility was an attempt to build an innovative new solar design. Esmeralda 7 would have used now-dominant, proven, highly efficient PV technology. Apples and Oranges.

Oh and Esmeralda 7 would have been 16 times larger.

California is an expensive state full of people and bureaucratic red tape. Nevada is empty, most of the land is undesirable, and enjoys fairly lax regulations.