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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWorld's largest solar farm is up and running in California
http://m.phys.org/news/2014-11-world-largest-solar-farm-california.html8 hours ago by Nancy Owano
The world's largest solar plant is up and running in California, with the completion of Topaz, a 550 megawatt plant; the Topaz solar project completed its final 40-megawatt (AC) phase, reported Greentech Media, making history not only as the first 500-megawatt plus solar farm to come on-line in the U.S. but also as the largest solar plant on-line in the world. Reports are talking about a plant with 9 million solar panels installed across 9.5 square miles.
This is a $2.5 billion project, said io9, with construction that began two years ago. The owner is MidAmerican Solar, a Pheonix, Arizona-based subsidiary of MidAmerican Renewables. Topaz is described by MidAmerican Solar as a 550-megawatt photovoltaic power plant.....
"As of today," wrote Eric Wesoff on November 24 in Greentech Media, "the project has installed 9 million solar panels across 9.5 square miles in San Luis Obispo County on California's Carrizo Plain. Construction began in 2012 and was expected to be complete in early 2015so call this an on-time delivery." Engadget said that "It's an impressive feat that should power 160,000 homes on Pacific Gas and Electric's grid."
daleanime
(17,796 posts)JanT
(229 posts)Now it needs to go viral so people can see that we can get solar to work in the U.S.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)greytdemocrat
(3,300 posts)Someone will have a problem with it, you wait and see.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Hekate
(94,469 posts)Judging from the way people put solar panels on their roofs, I figure it's shady under there but no hotter than the ambient temp. I wonder if the solar field would allow burrowing mammals or if their activities would disrupt the installation?
csziggy
(34,189 posts)San Joaquin kit fox a small nocturnal subspecies of the Kit Fox that was formerly common throughout the San Joaquin Valley but has recently become endangered.
Blunt-nosed leopard lizard a small, 3-5 inch gray to brown lizard with large dark spots and cream-colored cross bands. It has a broad, triangular shaped head and is endemic to California. It inhabits the grasslands and alkali flats of the San Joaquin Valley and the surrounding foothills and valleys.[10]
Giant kangaroo rat the largest of all kangaroo rats. The giant kangaroo rat is also endemic to California and now only occupies about 2% of its original range, making it critically endangered.
San Joaquin antelope squirrel a light tan squirrel with a white belly and a white stripe down its back and sides. Most of its habitat is used for agriculture, making the Carrizo Plains the habitat for most of the remaining population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrizo_Plain#Fauna
If the lizards, rats, rabbits and squirrels can tolerate the development of solar farms, then the kit fox would probably do very well as well as some of the bird species. A lot depends on how much maintenance is required, how often there will be human traffic, and if the animal activity might affect the panels.
PasadenaTrudy
(3,998 posts)Hekate
(94,469 posts)... about that location. Lotsa sunshine out there in that part of SLO County, for sure.
Maybe we can even hope that the frickin nuclear power plant can be shut down before it goes all Fukushima on us?
valerief
(53,235 posts)Response to grahamhgreen (Original post)
MerryBlooms This message was self-deleted by its author.
MineralMan
(147,432 posts)This facility isn't killing birds. So, what's your point?
MerryBlooms
(11,895 posts)Socal31
(2,490 posts)I guess it was blinding pilots coming up from SoCal and caused some alarm. I never heard what the solution to that was.
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)Subterranean caverns like we do nuclear waste!
And not to mention actual sunlight shining in the pilots eyes directly!!!! omg! Guess we should only fly at night!!!! Whew! Where u come up with that stuff, lol!
Socal31
(2,490 posts)These concentrated solar arrays throw off an insane beam and the reflection is massive.
Certainly you didn't think pilots were bothered by standard panels?
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)But, seriously, I suppose if reflectivity is an issue, the panels could be built with a curve to them like car windows.
Here's an aerial of reflection from solar in Thailand, because of physics, only one panel reflects at a time.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)This is so great to see. Thanks for posting!!