$2.2 billion solar plant in California turned off after years of wasted money: ‘Never lived up to its promises’

NYP:

Seen from the sky, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California’s Mojave Desert resembles a futuristic dream.

Viewed from the bottom line, however, Ivanpah is anything but.

The solar power plant, which features three 459-foot towers and thousands of computer-controlled mirrors known as heliostats, cost some $2.2 billion to build.

Construction began in 2010 and was completed in 2014. Now, it’s set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy.

In 2011, the US Department of Energy under former President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees for the project and the Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, hailed it as “an example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy.” more

21 Comments on $2.2 billion solar plant in California turned off after years of wasted money: ‘Never lived up to its promises’

  1. Man, follow that money, and how much made it back to odumbo – laundered like hell, and some showing up in odumbo’s 63 MILLION DOLLAR BOOK DEAL for a book no one read. If airhead pam bondi wasnt so busy making an ass of herself on talk shows, this chain of corruption would be exposed and prosecufed.

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  2. I have passed this installation numerous times on my way to Las Vegas to, uh…attend church conferences? Anyway, it may have been a waste of 2 billion dollars, but it was an impressive waste of 2 billion dollars. Miles and miles of desert on the I 15 between Baker and Primm until boom – a giant installation of mirrors appears.

    The main problem was that the Ivanpah installation used technology that was probably obsolete by the time they built it. On the plus side, it was built in the desert where there was plenty of sunlight almost all year round, and basically in the middle of nowhere. At least the people who built it (1) actually built something that worked somewhat for a period of time; and (2) built it in an empty area where sunlight was maximum.

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  3. @General Malaise: Ivanpah wasn’t “probably” cooking birds; it was definitely cooking them. Those mirrors concentrated a beam of light to a collection tower, and I have read that beam can reach 1000 degrees. Some estimates were it cooked 6000 birds a year.

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  4. “Brad go f urself quickly”

    Interesting. Isn’t that the new thing for you cowards? I can’t believe you would take offense to that being a willing participant. You’re all fucking cowards. Tell me I’m wrong. But also tell me why. Guns or knives bitches.

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