Not yo mama's power plant, the Crescent Dunes solar energy concentrator generates enough juice to power 75,000 homes. It's located 15 miles northeast of Tonopah, NV. The proprietary technology is owned by SolarReserve, a Santa Monica, CA-based company.
The system has 10,347 tracking mirrors (heliostats) measuring 37' by 34' for a total of 1258 square feet of surface. Each unit has its own IP address and software that directs the motor to move the mirror to the precise angle needed to reflect the sun onto the 100' tall receiver, the upper black portion of the central tower. The receiver contains molten liquid salt which is heated to 1050 degrees F. The molten liquid is piped to storage tanks and then to a steam turbine that generates the electricity.
The good news is it's renewable energy with no fossil fuel usage and no pollution. The bad news is, or was, that it roasts birds. During testing, 115 birds were incinerated. The engineers researched, tweaked the system, and solved the problem. I'm a bird lover, don't want to hear about birds being killed. But, lets put it in perspective: cats kill an estimated 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds per year in the continental US. So, okay, I can live with sacrificing 115 birds.
Thanks for the very informative description of the solar plant. I've been driving by that thing for years when heading to and from Lake Havasu to Northern Nevada. Have a great Summer and looking forward to your blog and travels.
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