Abstract :
A 500 MW, 4500-acre solar project in the Mojave Desert, California, is set to become the world´s largest solar facility, promising to power more than a quarter of a million homes a year at a price to rival conventional generation. The plant will comprise 20,000 solar generators sited in the desert, northeast of Los Angeles, and according to developers Stirling Energy Systems (SES), will be able to produce more electricity than all other US solar projects combined. The installation will use SES´s solar generator to convert thermal energy to electricity. SES´s solar generators will also produce power in line with consumer demand, peaking during the middle days when summer load is highest. The project is the first major application of SES´s solar dish technology for commercial electricity generation.