A California-based company named BrightSource Energy has already gained recognition for being the first one to construct the biggest solar power plant in the United States in two decades and is now geared to commence a second such solar plant that will incorporate the latest cutting edge technology.
The new solar plant called the ‘Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System’ spread out over 5.12 miles of land across the Mojave Desert in California and is proximate to the Nevada border, would be generating 500MW of energy and would be built in two phases yielding 250 MW each. This ambitious project has received approval from the California Energy Commission with BrightSource having already committed to delivering 2610 MW of energy to Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison.
Solar power has a lot of scope and utilizing the sun’s abundant heat for powering cities altogether would certainly prove to be an effective solution for tackling global warming and the scarcity of oil since the reserves are getting depleted at an alarming rate. The solar thermal plant basically comprises of heliostats that actually resemble mirrors reflecting the sun’s rays onto a boiler that is filled with water and is located on top of a tower that is 750 feet high and is surrounded by 85 thousand heliostats. The steam that results due to this is used to operate a turbine that generate electricity.
This second design of the solar plant is more effective as more energy is generated per acre as compared to the first one. It is expected that the first phase would start producing electricity towards the end of 2012, however, the entire project should be fully functional by 2015.
Via: Forbes
