Solar electric generation facilities planned on mesa (1200 MW, NV)

[jpak]

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080822/DVTONLINE01/80822008/1053/DVTONLINE

A company that owns a solar development center in Israel is planning to build three solar electric generating systems on Mormon Mesa that will produce 1,200 megawatts of power by 2012.

Bright Source Energy has been talking with Overton Power District for several months about a cooperative effort to upgrade existing transmission lines that would deliver to the grid increased power generated by the solar facilities on the west mesa.

“They want to build an additional transmission line,” said Delmar Leatham, Overton Power District general manager. “We can’t accommodate the loads they’re talking about with our existing line. They’ve expressed a willingness to work with us on financing the costs of the upgrades.”

Bright Source executives brought City of Mesquite officials out to the west mesa site Monday morning then returned to city hall to deliver a presentation on the proposed facilities.

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[Kolesar]

1. The facilities will be solar-thermal, ...

... which would create steam to spin turbines that would generate electricity. Bright Source said the west mesa plants’ design would be tower-based. Small mirrors on the 450-foot-high tower would create the heat for the tower-based boiler that would heat water up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam would be piped to the turbine where electricity would be generated.

[DCKit]

2. T. Boone is spending $60 million on a propaganda campaign...

to build support for legislation of government/utility (taxpayer/ratepayer) funding of his power lines as well as - and far more importantly - eminent domain for water, NG and oil pipelines along the same routes and these yahoos walk in and offer to help pay for infrastructure upgrades? Damn ferners.

[ElectricGrid]

3. but by all means rail against the only one trying to do anything of significance.

[GliderGuider]

4. I think you mis-read his comment.

He's saying that instead of lobbying for legislation changes like Pickens is doing, we ought to be doing things like this group is doing. That's a slam against Pickens, not the company doing this development.