In the last decade, Interstate 15 drivers passing through the Mojave desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas passed through a huge system of generation of the Ivanpah solar power plant. Located directly south of the California-Nevada State line, the Ivanpah plant has become a local landmark and what it is impossible to miss with its 459-foot-high towers, glowing as a beacon, and five square miles of mirrors covering the desert floors under them.
Despite the ambitious scale of scientific fantasy films, the Ivanpah solar plant, which costs $ 2.2 billion, is planned to be closed in 2026. California is widely considered the best US solar state, but the Ivanpah device is used now when the now -Bsolete solar technology is used, which is also less efficient and efficient for production.
For renewable energy supporters and those who settled for the construction of the factory, closing the ambitious Ivanpah object is tedious, if not unexpected, to move in a fast -moving industry that opened from the factory in a relatively short period of time.
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Ivanpah Solar Air View – David McNewas/Getty Images
The Ivanpah Solar Electric generation system started construction in 2010. And opened for business in 2014, and $ 1.6 billion in construction costs based on loan guarantees from the US Department of Energy.
Unlike the common photoelectric solar panels seen on the roofs, the Ivanpah device uses a complex process where 173,500 computers controlled mirrors-Heliostats-reflects sunlight at the receiver on one of the three towers that in turn heat the liquid to create a steam to create power and create power. When it opened, it was the largest solar plant in the world, promising much for its technology.
Unfortunately, the factory and its operator, NRG Energy, Profess, and the rapid decline in traditional solar panels, the Ivanpah system lacked the efficiency of costs. PG & E, the main energy buyer of the factory, 2025 Initially announced that he would end his agreement with Nog to save money to his clients. Initially, the agreement called for PG & E to acquire energy from Ivanpah until 2039. Once upon a time, the most advanced, the energy generation method used by the Ivanpah device is now considered to be the era of the past product in the evolution of solar technology.
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Wild Nature near the Ivanpah solar Factory in California – David McNew/Getty Images
In addition to the primary sun device, which is not economically efficient, Ivanpah has also arose environmental problems. It is estimated that 6,000 birds have been killed due to the huge amount of heat caused by mirrors a year, flying between mirrors and towers. Interstate 15 drivers also reported problems when thousands of mirrors look after the desert in the sun.
Although no official plans for the factory have been announced after its operation, NRG Energy website has proposed that the area could be re -transferred to a cheaper and more efficient photoelectric system that has become the standard of solar energy industry. Currently, Ivanpah will be a reminder of the risks when you have high, long -term publicly supported infrastructure projects in fast -moving industries, where the latest technology can quickly be made outdated.
Although everything may not have been ideal on the Ivanpah device, the California state has remained firmly committed to expanding solar technology. More recently, the solar energy experiment, named Project Nexus, has seen promising results from efforts to put in the solar canopy over the California huge irrigation channel system.
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Read the original article about Slashgear.