Huge Solar Power Plants Proposed in California

Solar power will get a big boost from two facilities planned for California, which will together be capable of generating 800 megawatts of power.

1 minute read

August 21, 2008, 6:00 AM PDT

By Michael Dudley

"Companies will build two solar power plants in California that together will put out more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today, the latest indication that solar energy is starting to achieve significant scale.

The plants will cover 12.5 square miles of central California with solar panels, and in the middle of a sunny day will generate about 800 megawatts of power, roughly equal to the size of a large coal-burning power plant or a small nuclear plant. A megawatt is enough power to run a large Wal-Mart store.

[It is] expected [that] the new plants, which will use photovoltaic technology to turn sunlight directly into electricity, [will] be competitive with other renewable energy sources, including wind turbines and solar thermal plants, which use the sun's heat to boil water. At 800 megawatts total, the new plants will greatly exceed the scale of previous solar installations."

FULL STORY: Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California

Thursday, August 14, 2008 in The New York Times

Energy California Solar Power

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