Nevada Solar One starts up

ByRod Adams

Nevada Solar One, a 64 MWe capacity solar thermal energy plant, started up yesterday – Wednesday June 6, 2007. The plant cost its developers $250 million and it is projected to produce 124 million kilowatt-hours per year. The plant covers approximately 400 acres with mirrored troughs that concentrate the heat from the desert sun (the plant is near Las Vegas) onto pipes that contain a heat transfer fluid.

Here is a link to my source for that information – Solar thermal energy making a comeback. You can find a series of photos for the plant here – Images: Solar thermal heats up in the desert.

Here are some questions for thought – how much do you predict that the electricity from the plant will cost? What do you think of the prospects for engineering or manufacturing improvements that will reduce the overall cost of this kind of project? Is this something that will save the earth from the effects of fossil fuel burning? (Okay – that last one is a loaded question. 🙂 )

Additional reading

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

Similar Posts

  • Peter Beattie – coal supporter – points to water use

    ByRod Adams

    Peter Beattie, the Queensland, Australia Premier, does not like nuclear power. As he said back in March, 2006: “If power is being generated by uranium we don’t need enough coal. I mean this is … black and white – I am a strong supporter of the coal industry, I’m a strong supporter of clean coal…

  • Export-Import Bank Loan to Westinghouse Blocked

    ByRod Adams

    On Tuesday 28 June, Rep Bernard Sanders I-VT introduced an amendment to the foreign aid bill that would prevent the Export-Import Bank of the United States from lending $5 Billion to Westinghouse that is intended to finance the sale of nuclear reactors to China. The Sanders amendment to H.R.3057 was passed by a 313-114 vote….

  • PBMR Update – 7 June 2006

    ByRod Adams

    Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online has an interesting report titled Govt to tighten oversight role on state-owned entities that includes a discussion about Eskom’s plans for capital investments. These investments are designed to make up for what is described as a decade or more of under investment in basic infrastructure. The plan, as described to…

  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearing – Nuclear Power

    ByRod Adams

    A friend sent me a link to the video for a hearing held yesterday, March 18, 2009 by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Nuclear Power. There were three witnesses testifying at various times; Dale Klein, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by himself, and then a tiny panel consisting of Marvin…