wiredinUSA July 2013

INDEX

Reflecting on the desert

New Scientist has reported on a heliostat mirror installation in the Mojave Desert. The reflectors turn to track the sun’s path, in a similar way to sunflowers, and the installation at the Ivanpah solar power project in California will consist of hundreds of thousands of reflectors. The mirrors will concentrate the sun's rays onto boilers, heating the water into steam to drive the turbines. The site covers 14km 2 and is expected to produce at least 377MW of electricity, enough to power 140,000 homes.

Photographer Jamey Stillings said: "It is like watching the creation of a huge piece of land art, a contemporary Nazca Lines of sorts." However, even renewable energy projects will have environmental impact and the Ivanpah project has caused controversy, not least from Native American groups objecting to impact on burial grounds. The project was also delayed while the threatened desert tortoises were relocated away from the site.

wiredInUSA - July 2013

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