| OptiSolar Planning World's Largest Photovoltaic Plant |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Thursday, 01 May 2008 | ||
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The largest photovoltaic farm in America at Nellis Air Force Base (pictured) is 40x smaller than this project would be. OptiSolar uses thin-film, amorphous silicon technology. Their panels use a tiny amount of non-crystaline silicon, allowing them to be far cheaper than traditional crystalline solar panels. The trade-off is that the panels themselves are far less efficient than traditional panels. The solar farm will take advantage of incentives from the state and county, which both have aggressive renewable energy goals. OptiSolar hopes to begin construction in 2010 with full capacity coming online before 2013. But hurdles remain...the state will have to approve the project, and OptiSolar will have to secure the funding for it, before we'll know for sure if this will take the title of world's largest photovoltaic farm. Via Good Clean Tech, OptiSolar and BusinessGreen
Comments
(5)
Huge Project
written by Book Calendar , May 02, 2008
That is one huge project. If a home uses 2KW of electricity. Then that would be enough energy for 250,000 homes. I am wondering how they are going to run the power lines from the project to the grid.
Clean, yes,..
written by Tom , May 02, 2008
I understand the benefits of solar power, but man, that is A LOT of space. Seems like it might be a good idea to maybe go vertical with them, although they would be really vulnerable to wind... Seems like. maybe. if people had more forsight, factoring in solar panels to every construction project would begin to help the problem. I mean, it would basically be a one-time expense versus monthly energy bills. Think of it, an entire developments roofed with panels, totally electrically self-sustaining. I dunno. This is my first time musing on solar energy. I'd really appreciate a reply.
500MW solar not quite 500MW coal
written by PJD , May 02, 2008
Not that I think we should build even one new coal fired plant, but 500MW of solar would equate to a very small coal fired plant due to the capacity factor being so much less for solar.
Likewise... Book Calendar, given that solar is rated as peak watts, if a typical house were to use 2kW average then it would take far more than 500MW of solar to supply 250,000 homes... along with some way to store the power.
...
written by curt , May 03, 2008
Very nice plan, even though I am sure, they are going to change many details, to make it even much better. Development on PV field is so fast, that the final power plant, is going to be far more efficient, if ever built.
LONDON AWARE 08 Green consumer expo
written by jodie , May 05, 2008
Have you heard about this event we are organising for the 10th and 11th May in Exhibition hall one of the Barbican? You can see more info at www.ukaware.com
Essentially it's a green consumer expo showcasing 80 organisations with products and services which make your life in some way more eco-friendly. From electric vehicles to organic veg boxes delivered to your home to eco-kettles to hubcap creatures(made from recycled hubcaps!) and just about everything in-between. There are also 11 panel discussion sessions on all sorts of climate change related topics, a children's interactive area, guest authors, a student eco-innovation award, a green cinema and lots, lots more! Tickets are £5 and concessions are free when registering on-line. | ||
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Utility-scale, thin-film solar manufacturer OptiSolar just released plans to create the largest solar photovoltaic farm in the world. The farm would be built in San Luis Obispo County, California, and would, at peak production, produce about 500 MW of solar power. This is roughly the same amount as a coal-fired power plant, enough to power some 190,000 homes.
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