Features

• Produces power during peak demand with near-zero CO2 emissions
• The first concentrating solar power (CSP) plant built in the United States in more than 17 years
• The third largest CSP plant in the world
• Has a nominal production capacity of 64 MW with a maximum capacity of 75 MW
• Produces enough energy to power more than 14,000 households annually
• All of the plant’s electricity production is being sold to Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Resources under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs)

Location

• Boulder City, Nevada
• Approximately 32 miles southeast of Las Vegas in the Eldorado Valley

Technology

• Uses 760 parabolic concentrators and more than 182,000 mirrors that concentrate the suns rays onto 18,240 solar receivers
• The solar receivers heat a transfer fluid to 735° F, which passes through a heat exchanger, heating water into steam to drive a conventional turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity
• Utilizes proprietary tracking technology to concentrate the sun’s rays and track the sun’s location during peak demand hours

Size

• Total project site: 400 acres
• Solar fields: 300 acres, the size of approximately 200 football fields

Financials

• Represents an investment of $266 million
• Financed through a groundbreaking leveraged lease structure

Project Details

• Went online in June 2007
• Constructed over 16 months
• Created 800 construction positions
• Approximately 28 permanent operations-related jobs created

Benefits of solar thermal technology

Clean and reliable power generation

• Collects heat from the sun and creates clean, reliable and renewable power during peak demand, when it is needed most
• Near-zero carbon emissions
• Provides a stable, long-term cost of electricity since fuel from the sun is free
• Avoided carbon emissions is equal to taking 20,000 autos off the road annually

Energy security

• Provides greater energy diversity
• Electricity from solar thermal energy is produced domestically and helps to reduce our dependency on unstable foreign energy sources

Economically competitive and cost-effective over time

• Produces electricity locally, providing manufacturing and installation jobs for Americans
• Is scalable, predictable and commercially viable

Increases land value

• Much of the land offering the best solar resources is inadequate for farming, grazing or habitation Concentrating solar power generation adds considerable value to otherwise unusable land
• The local area benefits from the plant’s tax dollars, land lease revenues and investment in community programs