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California Solar Dish Facility Moves Towards Approval
Thursday, September 2nd 2010 12:00 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
 The Imperial Valley Solar Project, a proposed facility that would generate 709 megawatts of solar power using 28,000 'SunCatcher' dishes, took another step towards final approval last week when the California Energy Commission issued a 'proposed decision' to give it the green light.
Despite concerns about the environment and land use, the committee found that the benefits of generating clean energy outweighed the potential downsides.
The system works by using curved reflective dishes to focus sunlight onto a 'power conversion unit' called a Stirling engine. The Stirling engine resembles a steam engine, converting the expansion of gaseous fluids into mechanical work. It's a popular way of generating solar electricity on a utility scale thanks to its efficiency, quietness and adaptability, and the technology actually date backs to 1816.
Several other proposed California solar installations employ Stirling engines, including the 850-megawatt Calico Solar Project in San Bernardino and a hybrid gas-solar plant in Palmdale.
Terry O'Brien, a deputy director of the California Energy Commission, recommended the approval of the plant, saying that 'it will provide critical environmental benefits by helping the state reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and these positive attributes must be weighed against the project's adverse impact... it would be appropriate for the Commission to approve the project based on a finding of overriding considerations.'
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