Renewable energy is skyrocketing across America, not only because of the self-consumption that southern states are developing but also because of massive projects that have the world in shock. We just learned about a photovoltaic colossus that we had under wraps in a place you won’t believe: they’re going to put 2 million solar panels and 120,000 batteries in place… to do this.
America has a secret photovoltaic monster… in the middle of the desert.
The Mojave Desert, which lies in the states of California and Nevada in the United States of America, has become among the most desirable sites for implementing solar power projects. The region has higher solar radiation than the rest of the world, with an advertised annual average daily solar resource of 5.
The average annual solar radiation of around 75 kWh per kilowatt of the area makes it suitable for utility-scale solar plants. Ludington proudly notes that one of these projects, the Edwards & Sanborn Solar and Energy Storage facility, is recent and currently stands as the largest solar and battery project in the United States regarding capacity.
Edwards & Sanborn complex, located in the United States, was developed by Terra-Gen and commissioned by the Minnesota-based Mortenson builder. The plantation area of this solar farm is 4,600 acres, and the installed capacity is 875 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and 3.2 GWh of battery storage.
This vast hall relates to the CAISO grid and can supply electricity to 238,000 homes. It also has 1. 3 GW of interconnection capacity, as the European Union currently has relationships with 13 countries to export its power. There are nearly two million modules with solar panels. Do you understand why it’s a “monster”?
It’s not a good idea as it seems: environmentalists are concerned about this.
Solar panels are installed in the electricity generation process at Edwards & Sanborn through photovoltaic technology, which helps generate electric power with solar energy. The use of battery storage gives the facility a stable power source.
This big combination of photovoltaic power plant plus storage means that the facility is in a position to provide a good part of the energy demands of the region, reducing the use of fossil energy and making the world a green place to live in.
Thus, as important as it is to modernize the production and usage of renewable solar energy in the Mojave Desert and, therefore, reduce emissions of carbon and other GHGs, there are issues of environmental concerns that arise (as you remember that we have seen with hydroelectric projects).
While constructing the large facility can contribute to habitat fragmentation and degradation, the solar development threatens the existence of such animals as the desert tortoise with critical habitats in Nevada, California, Utah, and Arizona or bighorn sheep inhabiting the Colorado plateau region and Sonoran desert.
This “monster” could grow in the future: more solar panels and unprecedented power.
The future of the Edwards&Sanborn project is seen as a success, which is an essential step for California in creating a cleaner and more efficient energy system. After the energy crisis and the increasing concern about pollution, the gap for clean energy is still growing, so the Mojave desert may remain a popular site for solar plants.
Factor and constraint analysis Solar power is abundant in the region, and existing physical infrastructure can support utility-scale and smaller-scale solar installation. Moreover, some projects will introduce more solar concentrators.
Imagine the potential of this photovoltaic colossus to generate energy in huge quantities, something that, until now, only countries like China or India seemed to be able to do. Can you imagine the amount of CO2 we will save the atmosphere from now on? That is precisely why concentrating so many solar panels is the perfect idea for the near future.
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