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World's Largest Solar Plant Comes Online

DA60

DA60

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'The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially came online on February 13, becoming the world’s largest source of solar power. With a capacity of 392 megawatts, the solar system will be able to generate enough power for 140,000 homes in California. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah project is located in the Mojave Desert and is a joint venture by NRG Energy, Google, and Brightsource Energy. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz toured the plant today with NRG CEO David Crane.

Ivanpah uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect the sun towards a tower. This heats a boiler in the tower, which creates steam to drive turbines and make electricity.'

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
DA60 said:
'The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially came online on February 13, becoming the world’s largest source of solar power. With a capacity of 392 megawatts, the solar system will be able to generate enough power for 140,000 homes in California. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah project is located in the Mojave Desert and is a joint venture by NRG Energy, Google, and Brightsource Energy. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz toured the plant today with NRG CEO David Crane.

Ivanpah uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect the sun towards a tower. This heats a boiler in the tower, which creates steam to drive turbines and make electricity.'

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

Very cool. There's also a plan, I believe, to build a really, really big one in the Sahara Desert.
 
Just wondering about the ROI here. They spent 2.2 billion to generate steam basically and that serves 140k homes. That same amount could power more homes if they bought them all solar panels instead.
 
clownboy said:
Just wondering about the ROI here. They spent 2.2 billion to generate steam basically and that serves 140k homes. That same amount could power more homes if they bought them all solar panels instead.
Click to expand...

wondered about that too.


Let's do some math....


I've found new solar panels from $150 for 100-watt to $205 for 140 watt... but I've heard they can be had cheaper if you look around or buy bulk. Let's assume $1 a watt for solar panels.

10 hours effective sunshine for full output per day average... typical house consumes 25-50 kwh if you try to conserve a little.. let's say 35kwh a day. 35kwh / 10 hrs = 3.5 kw of panels... 3500 watts, 35 panels at $100 a panel is $3500.

Now you need inverters, charge controllers, and batteries. In my experience that's going to run you at least $12,000.

We're up to $15,500 for a solar system you can easily run your house on without the grid. Not bad.


Now... the meat of the question...

2. 2 billion / 15,500 per house would solar-ize how many houses??

I got 141,935 houses. :)


So it works out about even, except you have to consider the power transmission infrastructure and maintenance, so really the house-by-house would come out a lot cheaper in the long run.
 
Van Basten said:
Is this serious or are you joking?
Click to expand...

Quite serious. I don't know where in development Desertec currently is, but that's the plan at least.

DESERTEC is a global renewable energy solution based on harnessing sustainable power from the sites where renewable sources of energy are at their most abundant. These sites can be used thanks to low-loss High-Voltage Direct Current transmission. All kinds of renewables will be used in the DESERTEC Concept, but the sun-rich deserts of the world play a special role.
Click to expand...

Under the DESERTEC proposal, concentrating solar power systems, photovoltaic systems and wind parks would be spread over the desert regions in Northern Africa like the Sahara desert
Click to expand...

Desertec - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So it seems to be a network of solar plants rather one giant plant, but it's still a good idea.

There was a good news article on it some time ago, but I don't know where it is anymore.
 
Goshin said:
wondered about that too.


Let's do some math....


I've found new solar panels from $150 for 100-watt to $205 for 140 watt... but I've heard they can be had cheaper if you look around or buy bulk. Let's assume $1 a watt for solar panels.

10 hours effective sunshine for full output per day average... typical house consumes 25-50 kwh if you try to conserve a little.. let's say 35kwh a day. 35kwh / 10 hrs = 3.5 kw of panels... 3500 watts, 35 panels at $100 a panel is $3500.

Now you need inverters, charge controllers, and batteries. In my experience that's going to run you at least $12,000.

We're up to $15,500 for a solar system you can easily run your house on without the grid. Not bad.


Now... the meat of the question...

2. 2 billion / 15,500 per house would solar-ize how many houses??

I got 141,935 houses. :)


So it works out about even, except you have to consider the power transmission infrastructure and maintenance, so really the house-by-house would come out a lot cheaper in the long run.
Click to expand...



Revision... been checking, and inverters are cheaper than I recall, but batteries are up a bit. The per-house cost might be a couple grand lower than my previous estimate.
 
Yeah, have to admit I lean more towards the decentralized with centralized backup power model.
 
I thought the Great Barrier Reef was the worlds largest plant to use solar energy...
 
DA60 said:
'The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially came online on February 13, becoming the world’s largest source of solar power. With a capacity of 392 megawatts, the solar system will be able to generate enough power for 140,000 homes in California. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah project is located in the Mojave Desert and is a joint venture by NRG Energy, Google, and Brightsource Energy. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz toured the plant today with NRG CEO David Crane. Ivanpah uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect the sun towards a tower. This heats a boiler in the tower, which creates steam to drive turbines and make electricity.' Ivanpah Solar Power Facility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...
First, I am a genuine environmentalist and am a fan of almost all renewables, but this is another dollop to the Big Distributed Energy Utilities, welfare queens like the Nuke Industry. If they had put solar panels on rooftops of local homes, they would have about 8 times the effect that distributed energy has, economically. This is welfare and nothing else. It is Renewable Energy monies that should be spent locally being captured by the existing Utility Monopoly. I love renewables, but I hate to see local renewables get the screw job to feed Big Corporate. Do you remember what ENRON did when they manipulated that Western Power Utility and created artificial shortages? Why give the same crooks another chance?
 
Goshin said:
Revision... been checking, and inverters are cheaper than I recall, but batteries are up a bit. The per-house cost might be a couple grand lower than my previous estimate.
Click to expand...

Factoring grid maintenance, individual systems are much cheaper.
 
A five square mile no fly zone for birds, fly in you don't fly out. This is just a way for corps to control you. Get your own solar panels and cut the middle man out. Save birds and tortoises and our fragile deserts.
 
DA60 said:
'The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially came online on February 13, becoming the world’s largest source of solar power. With a capacity of 392 megawatts, the solar system will be able to generate enough power for 140,000 homes in California. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah project is located in the Mojave Desert and is a joint venture by NRG Energy, Google, and Brightsource Energy. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz toured the plant today with NRG CEO David Crane.

Ivanpah uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect the sun towards a tower. This heats a boiler in the tower, which creates steam to drive turbines and make electricity.'

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

Now, if they can just come up with sufficient water to run the system.....:roll:
 
DA60 said:
'The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially came online on February 13, becoming the world’s largest source of solar power. With a capacity of 392 megawatts, the solar system will be able to generate enough power for 140,000 homes in California. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah project is located in the Mojave Desert and is a joint venture by NRG Energy, Google, and Brightsource Energy. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz toured the plant today with NRG CEO David Crane.

Ivanpah uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect the sun towards a tower. This heats a boiler in the tower, which creates steam to drive turbines and make electricity.'

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

Is this the same one they found was killing birds?
 
DA60 said:
'The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially came online on February 13, becoming the world’s largest source of solar power. With a capacity of 392 megawatts, the solar system will be able to generate enough power for 140,000 homes in California. The $2.2 billion Ivanpah project is located in the Mojave Desert and is a joint venture by NRG Energy, Google, and Brightsource Energy. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz toured the plant today with NRG CEO David Crane.

Ivanpah uses concentrated solar power (CSP), which uses hundreds of thousands of mirrors to reflect the sun towards a tower. This heats a boiler in the tower, which creates steam to drive turbines and make electricity.'

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

The problem with solar power is that it's not economically or "environmentally" viable.
 
Goshin said:
wondered about that too.


Let's do some math....


I've found new solar panels from $150 for 100-watt to $205 for 140 watt... but I've heard they can be had cheaper if you look around or buy bulk. Let's assume $1 a watt for solar panels.

10 hours effective sunshine for full output per day average... typical house consumes 25-50 kwh if you try to conserve a little.. let's say 35kwh a day. 35kwh / 10 hrs = 3.5 kw of panels... 3500 watts, 35 panels at $100 a panel is $3500.

Now you need inverters, charge controllers, and batteries. In my experience that's going to run you at least $12,000.

We're up to $15,500 for a solar system you can easily run your house on without the grid. Not bad.


Now... the meat of the question...

2. 2 billion / 15,500 per house would solar-ize how many houses??

I got 141,935 houses. :)


So it works out about even, except you have to consider the power transmission infrastructure and maintenance, so really the house-by-house would come out a lot cheaper in the long run.
Click to expand...

Yep, I've got 10K in mine at seventeen years? That's $70.00 a month and will go down next year and the next......
 
Goshin said:
Revision... been checking, and inverters are cheaper than I recall, but batteries are up a bit. The per-house cost might be a couple grand lower than my previous estimate.
Click to expand...

Backup generators are a usual piece as well as bts, and both fuse and breaker boxes and combiner boxes.
 
DVSentinel said:
No, there was a new one, in the last day or two that I saw that talked about a solar array. Don't remember where it was though. Something about the concentrated reflected light burning them.
Click to expand...

Hadn't heard that!
 
My understanding was that Solar Thermal was pretty much a dead letter in the energy community and that PV is the way forward and that as a result it is extremely unlikely that a plant like Ivanpah will be built again. Especially now that federal subsidies and loans for these projects have been drastically cut back and gas and CCGT/coal plants have made such a comeback.
 
But it makes the tree huggers happy!
 
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