Google invests in California's newest, record-breaking solar power tower plant

image
Author: Bob Morris
Published: 21 Apr, 2011
Updated: 13 Oct, 2022
2 min read

Google continues its investment in renewable, clean energy with $168 million for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California. This follows on $20 million it put in CoolPlanetBiofuels a week before.

Ivanpah, which is already under construction, will be the largest solar power tower facility in the world, producing 392 MW of power (1 MW is approximately enough for 650 homes, so Ivanpah will have the capacity to power about 255,000 homes). It is located in the Mojave Desert. Unlike traditional photo-voltaic solar energy in which the heat of the sun is converted directly to electricity, solar power tower technology uses thousands of heliostats to focus the sun's rays on a central tower.  The tremendous heat is used to create steam which powers turbines to create electricity.

Some solar power towers (this is also known as solar thermal) stores the heat in molten salt rather than creating steam directly.  Salt retains heat for long periods of time; hence, such facilities can create power at night too. Ivanpah doesn't store heat but instead relies on natural gas to power the turbines when needed.

Wait, you say, but this uses water in a desert, and that can't be good. Yes, it does use water. However, it tries to minimize water use by using air-cooled condensers to turn the steam back into water.  Ivanpah, when completed, will consist of three plants with three solar towers each. Total water usage for all three plants is estimated to be 100 acre feet per year. One acre foot is about 325,000 gallons.

Virtually all types of power generation use water, often in huge quantities. The Union of Concerned Scientists says a typical 500 MW coal plant uses 2.2 billion gallons of water a year. Nuclear power uses even more.  Ivanpah by contrast will use 32.5 million gallons of water a year, this for a plant only 20% smaller than that typical coal facility. Clearly, this is vastly more environmentally friendly than coal or nuclear.

Construction began late last year, yet the California Energy Commission accepted the application three years previously. The ponderous process of getting all the requisite permits in California takes much too long. We need a streamlined process so that big construction projects can get a yes or no within a few months, not a few years.

Many more such solar power projects are planned for California. We will have many gigawatts of clean renewable energy within a few years, as well as many new jobs for Californians.

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read