Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The $2.2 Billion Bird-Scorching Solar Project
Wall St. Journal ^ | February 12, 2014 | Cassandra Sweet

Posted on 02/13/2014 10:48:49 PM PST by grundle

At California's Ivanpah Plant, Mirrors Produce Heat and Electricity—And Kill Wildlife

A giant solar-power project officially opening this week in the California desert is the first of its kind, and may be among the last, in part because of growing evidence that the technology it uses is killing birds.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is scheduled to speak Thursday at an opening ceremony for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station, which received a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee.

The $2.2 billion solar farm, which spans over five square miles of federal land southwest of Las Vegas, includes three towers as tall as 40-story buildings. Nearly 350,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door, reflect sunlight onto boilers atop the towers, creating steam that drives power generators.

The owners of the project— NRG Energy Inc., Google Inc. and BrightSource Energy Inc., the company that developed the "tower power" solar technology—call the plant a major feat of engineering that can light up about 140,000 homes a year.

the BrightSource system appears to be scorching birds that fly through the intense heat surrounding the towers, which can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The company, which is based in Oakland, Calif., reported finding dozens of dead birds at the Ivanpah plant over the past several months

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: brightsource; energy; ivanpah; solar
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-48 last
To: Rca2000

I helped build a Natural Gas compressor station across the street from Solar One, in Daggett, CA on old Route 66, quite a few years back.


41 posted on 02/14/2014 5:15:34 AM PST by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: GeronL

Far less power is needed at night since most air conditioning load is solar.

This would work very well for desert communities where there is lots of extra land and sun.


42 posted on 02/14/2014 5:17:19 AM PST by varyouga
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: HiTech RedNeck

For a group-participation public execution, folks could be asked to bring bathroom mirrors to a football stadium at noon, with the condemned prisoner tied to a stake at mid-field.


43 posted on 02/14/2014 5:45:11 AM PST by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: grundle
In the summer of 1977 I was at Kirkland AFB, New Mexico, with ROTC. During that visit I got to see a test at Sandia Labs where they were testing the ability to focus sunlight from multiple mirrors on a tower. As part of the test they first focused on a point a few feet to the right of the target on the tower. While focused on that point a bird flew the hot spot - instant roosting! So this has been known for a long time!
44 posted on 02/14/2014 6:03:16 AM PST by MrTed ("...at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow...", when one 1st does it makes an eternal difference!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: grundle

Powers 140,000 homes. Except for the 67% of the time when the sun doesn’t shine or shine brightly enough.

And given 132,452,405 housing units in the U.S., it’d take only about 1,000 more of these 33% efficient plants covering 5,000 square miles of the U.S. at a cost of only two trillion dollars. All in all, quite doable. IF you are a “Progressive” who graduated in Lesbian Dance Theory and believe in the economic and scientific nature of Unicorn and Rainbow power.


45 posted on 02/14/2014 7:57:28 AM PST by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HiTech RedNeck; All

That sounds reasonable. Actually the figure was 140,000 homes, not 144,000, but that is still under $11,500. I know people who are spending $20 and $30,000 to put solar on their roofs, so this seems possible.


46 posted on 02/14/2014 4:57:15 PM PST by gleeaikin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: thackney; GeronL; HiTech RedNeck; All

I read loan guarantee, not subsidy. Also, energy produced goes into the grid. Other resources are also producing energy at night, so the energy gets distributed as needed. If all those mirrors need cleaning/dusting? sounds like a good employment program.


47 posted on 02/14/2014 5:06:04 PM PST by gleeaikin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: gleeaikin

I oppose government guarantees on loans


48 posted on 02/14/2014 8:28:36 PM PST by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-48 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson