Did you know that the fastest growing solar energy project on earth is about to collapse? Ivanpah, a two-point-two billion solar power plant in California has recorded a drop in its anticipated power output. So far it estimates that a whole year will be necessary to restore its past target power output. Otherwise, it might close down.
Granted amnesty on Thursday, by the California Public Utilities Commission, Ivanpah plant will no longer evade its contract with Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison.
Ever since construction began, with backup from NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource, the plant has received endless condemnation from environmentalists. With numerous mirrors, the plant can gather lots of sun’s heat, which it uses to warm water, produce steam and ultimately create electricity. The problem with it, since its introduction to the online community in 2014, is that it has been costlier than photovoltaic cells solar power plants.
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Although it was once a fierce rival to the solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar power’s fame has now plummeted. That’s why BrightSource canceled its concentrated solar power factory in Inyo Country in California last year.
Compared to photovoltaic, concentrated solar has an advantage. If it is used with an energy storage system like the heated molten salt tanks, it can produce electricity even when there is no sunlight. According to research was done by the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) in 2013, the value of concentrated solar and thermal storage might be 32 to 40 dollars per Megawatt-hour higher than the Photovoltaic plant value in 2020.
The SolarReserve, the main BrightSource competitor, is constructing a Nevada concentrated power plant (of up 110-megawatt) that will have molten-salt storage tanks. Another one of its own is being built in South Africa.
