IVANPAH – The First CSP Thermal Plant in USA

The Ivanpah plant is set to begin closing in 2026, with units withdrawn to prepare the land to potentially be repurposed for a different kind of solar power.

In 2014, the plant started commercial operations as the world’s largest concentrated solar thermal plant (CSP), spread across around 5 square miles of federal desert in Ca, USA.  The project was a symbol of the exciting progress across the industry.

Plant’s operating formula — Hundreds of thousands of computer-controlled mirrors called “heliostats” track the sun and concentrate its rays onto three towers, each around 450 feet tall and topped with water-filled boilers. The sun’s hyper-concentrated energy turns this water into steam, which drives a turbine to create electricity. A full description of the plant operation/description is available in the book [“Solar Panel Improvement: 1950 – 2016 For Solar, By Solar, To Solar“] available in Amazon.

One of the key selling points of this solar technology is the ability to store heat, allowing the production of electricity at night or when the sun isn’t shining without needing batteries.

Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at Bloomberg NEF analyzed the failure of this project identifying the primary reasons behind.   These kinds of plants “are just technically really difficult to operate,” Chase told CNN recently. All the tricky, mechanical parts of a fossil fuel plant combined here to act — to run a turbine and to maintain many moving parts — for a distributed energy source these are the challenges.  Mirrors tracking the sun entirely is a tech dependent step therefore some uncertainties follow the step always. Chase pointed out, “It’s really hard to get those all lined up perfectly and keep them lined up at all times.”

And then the biggest problem noted for Ivanpah is the type of photovoltaic solar used — today’s technology use to manufacture solar panels — became so sophisticated yet super cheap.

At the time Ivanpah was built (2007-2009), it was beyond conceivable that photovoltaics is going to be so advanced and efficient, along with the smart batteries availability all the time to accomplish the aforementioned task in a safe and efficient manner. Chase exemplified by saying anyone can buy a solar module for the price of a fence panel.

The plant’s co-owner NRG (North American Energy & Home Services Company) company said prices were competitive when the power agreements were signed in 2009. But over time, advancements in other types of solar technology “led to more efficient, cost effective and flexible options for producing reliable clean energy.”

For some, Ivanpah now stands as a huge, shiny monument to wasted tax dollars and environmental damage. For others, failures like this are a natural part of the race to find the winning solutions for the clean energy transition. Me, as one Solar Energy advocate, I support fully the last reasoning, because – it is the science & innovation that we are talking about here. Unless we try it, we will never know. As the NASA Director once said: “They Try, They Fail, They Fix, They Fly.”

Ivanpah – The CSP/Thermal Project @ Mojave Desert in CA, USA

REFERENCE:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-alien-like-field-of-mirrors-in-the-desert-was-once-the-future-of-solar-energy-it-s-closing-after-just-11-years/ar-AA1yXSuB?ocid=socialshare&pc=DCTS&cvid=948ad8d88ead447488aac5b25ead1d19&ei=18

IVANPAH – SOLAR PLANT IS CLOSING