And don’t ever listen to us, again!
Talk about light pollution, you can see this nasty project halfway across Nevada when flying.
Everything they touch.......
“In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under former President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in loan guarantees to finance the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility”
Back then, the cost of solar panels was in a free-fall and likely already cheaper than the this plant...two things that I’m interested in - how much did the feds ultimately lose (probably more than $1.6 Billion), and how much of it got funneled back to the Democrats.
Let’s not forget Solandra, $900 million disappeared, FBI seized all records and never investigated..
Obama is ignorant enough about science and engineering to believe that it would be successful. It is just as likely the result of incompetence and wishful thinking as malice. I suppose his thinking was that this was like the Manhattan Project: Some initial government seed money launched the nuclear industry. (Fermi built the first nuclear reactor for about $10,000, a lot of money for academic institutions at the time, but not for daunting for utility companies.)
Still I like the link heading in the linked article:
“EXPERTS SAY FIRST WEEK OF ‘TRUMP EFFECT’ IS DERAILING GLOBAL CLIMATE MOVEMENT’S ‘HOUSE OF CARDS’”
Talk about a mixed metaphor.
The plant has already been built. The power lines to it have been built.
It’s now a matter of operating costs I believe and if California has enough other sources of electricity to avoid brownouts.
It also generates electricity somewhat later in the day than solar panels can.
Texans have twice paid enormous prices $9,000/MWh ($9/KWh) for electricity.
I believe Morrocco has a number of similar plants.
Financial boondoggle? C’mon man! It achieved exactly the financial end it was designed for, funneling taxpayer money through a green energy project to gain public approval and then siphoning off huge sums and redirecting to the DNC.
WIKI
The plant burns natural gas each morning to commence operation. The Wall Street Journal reported, “Instead of ramping up the plant each day before sunrise by burning one hour’s worth of natural gas to generate steam, Ivanpah needs more than four times that much.” On August 27, 2014, the State of California approved Ivanpah to increase its annual natural gas consumption from 328,000,000 cubic feet (9,300,000 m3) of natural gas, as previously approved, to 525,000,000 cubic feet (14,900,000 m3). In 2014, the plant burned 868×109 British thermal units (254 GWh) of natural gas emitting 46,084 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is nearly twice the pollution threshold at which power plants and factories in California are required to participate in the state’s cap and trade program to reduce carbon emissions. If that fuel had been used in a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant, it would have generated about 124 GWh of electrical energy. The facility used that gas plus solar energy to produce 419 GWh of electrical energy (more than three times that of the referenced CCGT plant), all the while operating at well below its expected output.
BrightSource estimated that the Ivanpah facility would provide 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction, 86 permanent jobs, and total economic benefits of $3 billion.
In November 2014, the Associated Press reported that the facility was producing only “about half of its expected annual output”. The California Energy Commission issued a statement blaming this on “clouds, jet contrails and weather”. Performance improved in 2015 to about 650 GWh. However, NRG Energy said in its November quarterly report that Ivanpah would likely not meet its contractual obligations to provide power to PG&E during the year, raising the risk of default on its Power Purchase Agreement. PG&E had a contract to receive 640 GWh/year from Units 1 and 3, while SCE was supposed to receive 336 GWh from Unit 2, at a price of about $200/MWh (20¢/kWh).
By 2017, due to improvements, the plant was meeting the contract output requirements.
In September 2016, federal biologists said about 6,000 birds die from collisions or immolation annually while chasing flying insects around the facility’s towers.
In its seventh year (2020), the annual production was 91.1% of its advertised value.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility
A Chinese CSP(Concentrated Solar Plant):
It would use bauxite particles:
Lobbyists tap another congressman/woman/person to make new deal for someplace else.
Wonder if anybody has ever seen a lobbyist in a unemployment office?.
“still relying on natural gas to stay operational.”
A solar power plant that produces nothing at night needs natural gas backup power? Wow, that’s big news. Whoever could have foreseen that?
I hope DOGE is all over the DOE.