Take a look at our latest interactive map, charting the location of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants across the country. CSP plants generate clean, renewable electricity on a massive scale. These facilities use mirrors to collect the sun’s energy and convert it into heat. The heat from the system is then used to drive a turbine, generating electrical… Keep reading →
Today, I’m traveling to southern California to participate in the dedication ceremony for theIvanpah Solar Electric Generating System. As the largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the world, Ivanpah harnesses the abundant sunlight of the Southwest United States to provide power on a massive scale. The facility has the capacity to generate 392 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity… Keep reading →
The 377 MW Ivanpah solar plant started up in California today amid controversy over wildlife apparently killed by the intense heat emitted from the solar receivers located on top of the facility’s “power towers.” 3,500 acres of specially-designed mirrors focus the sun’s radiation on the towers, which convert water to steam used to spins power-generating… Keep reading →
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With momentum building for solar energy in the United States, we want to talk about solar with you. Join us this Wednesday, February 12, at 1 p.m. ET, for a live #AskEnergy Twitter Q&A on all things solar. To join the conversation, submit your questions in advance and during the live Twitter Q&A by emailing newmedia@hq.doe.gov, posting in the comments on the Energy… Keep reading →
With electric vehicle sales on the rise, many auto makers are looking for the next advance in the technology. The electric vehicle removes dependence on gasoline but the concept car announced by Ford last week removes the vehicle’s dependence on anything but the sun. The C-MAX Solar Energi concept car is a solar-powered hybrid vehicle that… Keep reading →
In our recent interview with Solar Reserve CEO Kevin Smith, he filled us in on the company’s global ambitions, but was particularly proud of the Crescent Dunes concentrated solar power (CSP) project currently being constructed in the Nevada desert. This is the second video in a two-part series that provides an up-close look at the… Keep reading →
In our recent interview with Solar Reserve CEO Kevin Smith, he filled us in on the company’s global ambitions, but was particularly proud of the Crescent Dunes concentrated solar power (CSP) project currently being constructed in the Nevada desert. The project is unique because it’s being billed as the first CSP plant with integrated energy… Keep reading →
Natural gas, the enemy of many frack-fearing greens, is the very thing that will allow California to more than double the amount of renewable energy on its grid by 2020. So says the man who runs the California Independent System Operator, which oversees the vast bulk of power distribution in the Golden State. The assertion from… Keep reading →
Energy companies love to brag about being the world’s largest, first or producing the most of something and the bragging is about to begin. The Shams 1 concentrated solar plant located in the UAE’s Western Region is currently the world’s largest, but not for long, as an enormous project in the US western desert is… Keep reading →
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a rocket-engine manufacturer based in Los Angeles, Calif., has marked a major milestone in technology that will provide reliable solar energy on demand – even when the sun isn’t shining.
The last of 14 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) receiver panels and heat shields have been installed at the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy project, and construction of the 10,400 articulating mirrors, or heliostats, on the 1600-acre heliostat field is underway in Tonopah, Nevada. PWR has provided the worldwide exclusive license to SolarReserve, a developer of large-scale solar energy projects based in Santa Monica, Calif., for the molten salt power tower and heliostat technologies. Keep reading →
