The solar power installation, called the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, has been in the works for some time: In December, a SolarReserve subsidiary signed a power purchase agreement with utility NV Energy. Under the PPA, the utility, which serves the Nevada and northeastern California markets, agreed to buy the energy that SolarReserve's installation would produce.
As proposed, the solar project will generate 100 megawatts of clean power with the use of an advanced molten-salt technology. Unlike solar photovoltaic systems - where sunlight generates power directly - concentrating solar power systems like SolarReserve's focus sunlight on a tower filled with salt. The salt becomes superheated and produces steam, which runs a turbine.
The principal advantage to CSP systems is that they store heat for hours; thus, they can produce electricity even after the sun has gone down.
When Crescent Dunes is finished, SolarReserve says, it will be able to produce enough power for 75,000 homes.
