big solar

BrightSource plans third giant solar-power plant

BrightSource Energy today disclosed plans to build a 750-megawatt solar power plant in California, which would be its third and largest utility-scale project.

The company said that the Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility will use its solar tower technology, where a field of mirrors reflects light onto a tower to create steam that drives a turbine to generate electricity. The project would generate enough electricity to power more than 300,000 homes, BrightSource said.

The plan calls for installing three towers able to generate 250 megawatts each (before accounting for the energy consumed by their operation).

BrightSource earlier this … Read more

Army targets big renewable energy projects

The U.S. Army needs more steel in the ground when it comes to renewable energy.

The Army today announced a special task force called the Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) designed to speed up deployment of solar and wind power at its bases. The task force is being created to help meet the Army's ambitious goal of getting 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.

"We view ourselves as a target-rich environment for doing a better job with taxpayer dollars and being good stewards of the environment," said John McHugh, secretary of the Army … Read more

Solar power plant plans move ahead in California

After a long drought, large-scale solar power is getting closer to returning to the U.S. desert.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday gave the green light to power purchase agreements which two utilities have with solar power project developers, a key step toward beginning actual construction.

The approvals in California follow a flurry of activity at the Bureau of Land Management, which created a fast-track review process for solar projects on federal land. Both agencies' reviews are required for permitting the projects which, if finalized and financed, would result in a dramatic increase in solar power on the … Read more

Big solar: Utility-scale power plants arise

When it comes to solar these days, it's go big or go home.

Utilities are being pushed to use more renewable energy, heating up the business of large-scale solar power. (Click here for related photo gallery.)

There are competing designs for utility-scale solar farms. By concentrating light to make steam, some designs use heat to generate electricity. In parallel, other companies concentrate light onto photovoltaic cells to generate electricity.

The latter, known as concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems, may make more sense in a broader set of geographies, compared with concentrating solar thermal. Both forms of concentrating solar power are … Read more