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43 Comments
- defiantone, on 07/11/2008, -0/+14....so they opened a factory that will soon produce the components needed to build power plants - I would be far happier if they had passed all of the regulatory hurdles to open power plants and we actually building and opening them - I'll take what I can get
- tkstock, on 07/11/2008, -1/+11From comments in the article:
What's really sad is that environmentalists are trying to block the building of solar power facilities because they'll affect the desert tortoises.
These are the same environmentalists who blocked nuclear power plants that have led to the widespread use of coal. - GreatSunJester, on 07/11/2008, -0/+7I like it. IF they can pull it all off, they get to showcase efficient power production against very public power consumption.
- inactive, on 07/11/2008, -1/+8Cool!
- zacharytelschow, on 07/11/2008, -1/+7At present, what the cost per kW/hr for coal vs. solar (or wind)?
- dblespresso, on 07/11/2008, -2/+7shh..., in Digg there are no tradeoffs. Only emotional appeals at solving problems.
- willfe, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power#Economics_ ... as of 2006 (the "newest" figures I could find without spending any significant effort ;)):
"wind cost was estimated at $55.80 per MWh, coal at $53.10/MWh and natural gas at $52.50."
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power#Developme ... solar clocks in at $0.022 per kWh, or $22 per MWh, for photoelectric generation and a whopping $120-$140 per MWh for "concentrating solar power" plants. That last number seems unusually high, though I'm unable to immediately cite a specific reason why my brain thinks that so deploy appropriate amounts of salt grains. - gn0stik, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4not a power plant. RTFA
- frostbyt, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3I am all in on this.
- liuite, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3they are building a factory in vegas, not a power plant.
- tcpip4lyfe, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3They should put huge light bulbs over the array at night so they have a continuous stream of power.
- XopherMV, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3Cool, yes, but at first I questioned the post because solar thermal plants have been up and running in California continuously since at least 1986.
http://www.solel.com/products/pgeneration/ls2/dagg ...
Then I realized that the article is talking about factories that make the components to build solar thermal stations, which is cooler and more useful. - gn0stik, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3It's only more useful if they actually put the power plants in.
- tkstock, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2It probably will be one day. Keep your eye on it - it may be the next "Exxon"!
- gn0stik, on 07/11/2008, -1/+3They don't need to be "in" the BLM. They just need to put political pressure on them to make hasty and stupid decisions. The No Nukes crowd sped us down the path we are on. They are the most carbon negative people on the planet right now, and the tortoise people want to give them a run for their money, and keep us burning coal. These are the same people who are terrified about the loss of Polar habitat, but don't want to sacrifice habitat anywhere else in order to stop the loss. They want a magic bullet. They want a power plant that sucks co2 out of the atmosphere and creates electricity, and rainbows as a byproduct. If we can't even use the most barren landscapes on this planet for power generation, we are lost.
The tortoises will move out of the way, and use panels and reflectors as shade. They will adapt. If we don't do this, the only animals on this planet that will not lose habitat is the ***** tortoises, and they will become foodstock because we won't be able to raise cows anymore, with no grasslands. Hope you like tortoise soup. - RyeBrye, on 07/11/2008, -2/+4Las Vegas was already powered by the Hoover Dam's hydro plant. Las Vegas uses most of its electricity at night. Unless these are Lunar-powered solar plants, I don't see how this helps much.
- MWeather, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Right now solar is cheaper. The cheapest costs around 30 cents per watt to produce.
- MWeather, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Yeah. I'm tired of hearing about those things. Vegas has designer drugs, too!
- krische, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Well I guess one step closer. We now have built a factory, to build panels, to use when building a power plant.
- inactive, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2Green is better even if it covers half of Utah...
- JJ2K1, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Damn after reading the article I was about to go buy a load of stock in Ausra but it's not a publicly traded company :(
- richbleak, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Who are these environmentalists that can independently veto whatever they choose? Let's be clear, it is the public officials that cave to the desires of these groups that are to blame. There are plenty of non-environmentalist groups that put pressure to kill useful projects too. We have a ***** government.
- magus_melchior, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2Remember, don't look directly at the collector.
- SharkyTech, on 07/12/2008, -0/+1Batteries, put shortly. Also, the hydros will use energy from the grid during the day to pump water back up to the top of the dam, thus storing the energy for later use.
DISCLAIMER: I know TFA doesn't cover it, but I answered the question anyway. - lalee, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1That's hot.
Sorry, hadda say it. - gn0stik, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1They make solar thermal components, not pv components (they use the sun to heat a thermal liquid in a tower to spin turbines). Not to be confused with that giant tower they are planning in Australia, this is actually quite a bit more efficient, and scalable, so it takes less space to produce the same amount of power. Solar thermal is more efficient than PV, but it costs a lot to build a power plant, and PV is catching up pretty fast. This factory will bring that cost per KWh down quite a bit. The rest is in innovation for plants themselves.
This is a great step forward. - beauley, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1With Global Warming on many people's minds, do we have any ideas of the best way to lessen the impact on our future, or maybe a possible relief of its possible ravages or even a possible key to its eventual reversal. Many scientific experts have proposed
http://www.quazen.com/Science/Technology/Solar-Pow ...
Solar Power, Source of Endless Energy - n1eb, on 07/11/2008, -2/+3Next time you digg a story with a photo of Harry (the body) Reid on it I'd appreciate a warning.
- inactive, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1And they are saving the environment too.
- MWeather, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1Contrary to what you might have heard, there aren't many environmentalists in the BLM.
- gn0stik, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1It's not a power plant. The components that they make will go into power plants that will produce that much power. So yeah, it's a lot of power.
- Vector713, on 07/11/2008, -2/+2Dugg for something other than casinos, gambling, or sex in relation to Las Vegas. :)
- inactive, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1THE SOLAR POWER FACTORY ARE GOING TO COST EM BILLION BUCKS
- CarlT, on 03/05/2009, -0/+0I dont know if its been mentioned but NASA are offering $2million to the person/team that come up with a successful 'space lift' so they can more easily build solar space power stations
http://www.uwpays.com
http://www.lowerutilitybill.co.uk - Scoreboard, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1The first was in use back in the 1980's. But still good to hear about alternative energy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_plants_in ... - rjolly, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0Mirrors, pipe and water. The technology is very simple and it isn't new. If it's viable, why has it yet to be proven? If Ausra truely has something, then they'll be first of hundreds of companies building Fresnel Reflectors.
- MWeather, on 07/11/2008, -2/+1This isn't the first. Sterling Energy Systems has had a factory for years.
- wherley, on 07/11/2008, -3/+2It may be the first Ausra solar thermal system in the US - but solar thermal plants have been in operation for many years in the Mojave Desert, thus not a "US First".
http://www.fplenergy.com/portfolio/contents/segs_v ...
SEGS III – 30 MW / 15 MW net ownership
SEGS IV – 30 MW / 11.4 MW net ownership
SEGS V – 30 MW / 13.8 MW net ownership
SEGS VI – 30 MW / 12.3 MW net ownership
SEGS VII – 30 MW / 15 MW net ownership
SEGS VIII – 80 MW / 40 MW net ownership
SEGS IX – 80 MW / 40 MW net ownership
IN-SERVICE DATE
SEGS III & IV – December 1986
SEGS V – September 1987
SEGS VI & VII – December 1988
SEGS VIII – December 1989
SEGS IX – November 1990 - rjolly, on 07/11/2008, -1/+0And a dam stores potential energy. Use solar power during the day, and hydro at night.
- inactive, on 07/11/2008, -2/+1This is an important step... I looked into it, and it looks like this will produce about half as much power as the smallest nuclear powerplant in our country.
- ender7074, on 07/11/2008, -3/+1The absolute last thing I would care about when visiting Las Vegas is a solar powered anything unless its got a nice rack or is paying out.
- Deathrah, on 07/11/2008, -9/+6Oh yeh, Australia really played its cards right on this one......................NOT!
- inactive, on 07/11/2008, -5/+0I am hungry.
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