Generally speaking, solar energy installations come in two flavors: small- and medium-scale systems that are installed atop roofs and in empty lots (broadly referred to a “distributed generation”); and large, utility-scale solar power plants that sit on acres and acres of land. A common critique of distributed generation is that, thanks to trees and other [...]

The Ivanpah solar power plant is a work in progress along a stretch of California desert just west of the Nevada border. Earlier this week, Google announced it will invest $168 million in the 370-megawatt (MW) project, which relies on solar thermal technology that’s sometimes informally called the “power tower” (pictured left). This announcement comes after the Internet [...]

It’s been a long, hard road for the Federal Government and the California Energy Commission(CEC) in gaining enough public support and financial backing to move forward with the Ivanpah Solar Project — a 392-megawatt (MW) solar thermal plant to be built in California’s Mojave Desert. Scale back in size from the original plan, environmental setbacks, commission approval and public comments are just a few of the hurdles cleared along the path to construction.

One of the main arguments put forth by those opposed to the Ivanpah solar thermal project in California’s Mojave Desert is that the negative environmental impact of the plant would be too great. On August 3, a panel of the California Energy Commission (CEC) weighed in. The Ivanpah plant will use mirrors to reflect sunlight onto [...]