Read more on the media reports here - http://www.environmental-expert.com//news/huge-thermal-plant-opens-as-solar-industry-grows-412652?utm_source=News_Energy_13022014&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=feattextlink
While operating for a few months already, this week was the formal opening.
There are hundreds of thousands of mirrors into the largest solar power plant of its type in the world, a milestone for a growing industry that is testing the balance between wilderness conservation and the pursuit of green energy across the West.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, sprawling across roughly 5 square miles of federal land near the California-Nevada border, formally opened Thursday after years of regulatory and legal tangles ranging from relocating protected tortoises to assessing the impact on Mojave milkweed and other plants.
The $2.2 billion complex of three generating units, owned by NRG Energy Inc., Google Inc. and BrightSource Energy, can produce nearly 400 megawatts - enough power for 140,000 homes. It began making electricity last year.
More large systems are now under development, and these newer ones, along with other large systems around the world will begin to allow a decent system evaluation as they feed electricity into large grids for domestic and industrial use.
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| Ivanpah Solar Power station |
A portent of future energy systems or just a curiosity?
Some authors believe it will take 50 years to switch over, and away from fossil fuels. These large systems may just show the way.
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