ryanpanos:

ivanpah amidst 19M acres dedicated to solar energy production in mojave desert

the obama administration has unveiled plans to dedicate an additional 19 million acres of land in the mojave desert to american solar energy production. currently development on the world’s largest concentrating solar power plant - ivanpah solar electric generating system (SEGS) - is underway in the region, and with this announcement, incentives are being offered for developers to cluster projects within the new designated production site.

brightsource is responsible for the technology behind the ivanpah SEGS, which is set for completion in 2013. its location along the california-nevada border offers abundant sunlight and will generate 392 megawatts of energy, enough to power 140,000 homes per day. the complex will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 400,000 tonnes per year, which is the equivalent of taking more than 70,000 cars off the road.