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Google has invested $168 million in a new solar energy power plant that is being developed in the Mojave Desert in California by BrightSource Energy. Brightsource’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) will generate 392 gross megawatts of clean, solar energy, which is the same as taking over 90,000 vehicles off the road over the lifetime of the plant, projected to be more than 25 years. For Google, the investment makes business sense and will help complete one of the world’s biggest solar energy projects.

Ivanpah’s ISEGS is a 392 megawatt solar thermal power facility that began construction in October of 2010. It is the first project to deliver power to serve BrightSource’s signed contracts with PG&E and Southern California Edison. The project brings together BrightSource’s solar technology with conventional power components to yield reliable, clean power at scale.

The 392-megawatt solar complex will use mirrors to focus the power of the sun on solar receivers that are on top of power towers. The complex is made up of 3 individual plants that will be built in phases between 2010-2013, and they will use BrightSource Energy’s LPT 550 technology. The electricity that will be generated is enough to serve over 140,000 homes in California during peak hours of the day. The project will provide power to Pacific Gas and Electric Company and to Southern California Edison. The project will benefit the economy by providing for 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction, and will average 650 jobs annually over a 3-year period. The project will generate $300 million in state and local tax revenues.

The environmental benefits include the avoidance of 13.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the plant’s 30-year life. The plant will feature dry-cooling technology, which will allow for the project to reduce water usage by over 90% over competing solar thermal technologies that use conventional wet cooling systems. Water is recirculated during energy production and then reused to clean the mirrors. The design of the plant is low-impact and the technology will enable the company to avoid sensitive habitats without obstructing them.
Ivanpah, once operational, will create electricity the same way that most of the world’s electricity is created. That is, by creating high-temperature steam to turn a conventional turbine. Instead of burning fossil fuels to create the steam, the plant will use the sun as fuel. The LPT technology allows for thousands of software-controlled mirrors to track the sun in 2 dimensions and reflect the sunlight to a boiler that sits on a tower. When the concentrated sunlight strikes the boiler’s pipes, it heats up the water to yield steam. This high-temperature steam is piped from the boiler to a standard turbine where the electricity is generated. Then, the transmission lines carry the power to homes and businesses for use.

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