Dear MEL Topic Readers,
This alien-like field of mirrors in the desert was once the future of solar energy. It’s closing after just 11 years
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a concentrated solar thermal plant located in the Mojave Desert, near the California–Nevada border. It uses 173,500 heliostats, mirrors that track the sun, to focus sunlight onto the three 140-meter-tall towers that generate steam to power turbines and produce electricity. When conceived in 2014, the concentrating solar power system was thought to be a potential breakthrough in renewable energy generation. But it was technically too challenging to control that many mirrors to track the sun, concentrate its rays onto the three towers, and turn the water to steam to drive turbines all in a synchronized way. Also, innovations reduced the cost of solar panels drastically in the last decade, which has made Ivanpah uncompetitive. Now, the much-disputed project is going to be closed next year, having wasted a $1.6 billion loan guarantee by the federal government. Then what will the 1,400 ha land be like when the plant is closed? Will it be reclaimed somehow or just abandoned? At least, no more birds will be burned or incinerated when they fly between the panels and the towers.
Read the article and learn about this futuristic solar power plant in the California desert.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/13/climate/ivanpah-desert-solar-closing/index.html
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