The World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Uses 300,000 Mirrors To Create Electricity

Try and wrap your head around this one…. The world’s largest solar power plant, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, is now fully functional and producing energy. The solar energy comes from 300,000 computer-controlled mirrors, each 7 feet high and 10 feet wide. They’re controlled by computers that focus the Sun’s light to the top of 459-feet towers, where water is then turned into steam to power the turbines.

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The solar plant is currently owned by NRG Energy, Brightsource Energy and Google-. The plant is roughly five square miles and is located on federal land near the California-Nevada border…. The amount of bad luck here is staggering… because (MIRRORS.. duh).

459 foot tower where the sunlight is directed

According their official news release:

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is now operational and delivering solar electricity to California customers. At full capacity, the facility’s trio of 450-foot high towers produces a gross total of 392 megawatts (MW) of solar power, enough electricity to provide 140,000 California homes with clean energy and avoid 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, equal to removing 72,000 vehicles off the road.

Ariel view of the entire power plant

300,000 mirrors

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