The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System -- jointly owned by NRG Energy, Google, and BrightSource Energy -- started delivering power to California's electric grid on Thursday. The solar thermal plant, which covers approximately 3,500 acres in Southern California, creates high-temperature steam to drive power generators.
The mirrors reflect the sunlight to boilers at the top of the towers, which creates high-temperature steam that then turns a turbine, according to BrightSource.
The plant accounts for nearly 30 percent of all solar thermal energy in the US and is the largest solar project of its kind in the world, according to NRG Energy.
