![\"Ivanpah-Solar-Electric-Generating-System\"](\"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/05\/Ivanpah-Solar-Electric-Generating-System.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFrom February 2014 Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is in operation after six years of construction.<\/p>\n
Located in the Mojave Desert, 300,000 software-controlled mirrors and three 450-foot towers at full capacity can produce up to 392 megawatts of solar power.\u00a0 That will provide solar electricity for 140,000 California homes and will avoid 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.<\/p>\n
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Solar thermal power plants use solar mirrors to heat water in boilers thus produce steam to turn the electricity generating turbines. This creates usable electricity by using large-scale magnification. The technology used in the Ivanpah plant comes from Bright Source and includes 173,500 heliostats that follow the sun\u2019s trajectory, solar field integration software and a solar receiver steam generator.<\/p>\n
Although solar thermal plants do require the use of water, as opposed to solar photovoltaic panels, this project utilizes dry cooling technology, which vastly reduces the amount of water needed. As Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz says, \u201cThis entire facility will use roughly the same amount of water as two holes at the nearby golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivanpah produces solar power on a large scale rather than on rooftops.\u00a0 While some solar thermal power plants can store the sun\u2019s thermal energy in the form of molten salt to produce energy when the sun isn\u2019t out this project does not store energy after dark. BrightSource does plan to incorporate thermal storage in future next-generation designs.<\/p>\n
Source: http:\/\/www.texasvox.org\/tag\/ivanpah\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From February 2014 Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is in operation after six years of construction. Located in the Mojave Desert, 300,000 software-controlled mirrors and three 450-foot towers at full capacity can produce up to 392 megawatts of solar power.\u00a0 … Continue reading