World’s Largest Solar Power Purchase
The largest solar power purchase in the world was recently announced by BrightSoruce Energy and Southern California Edison. Within several years, BrightSource will start building solar power plants that take advantage of mirrors that will reflect and concentrate the sun’s rays to a single receiver.
The heat at the receiving end will get hot enough to boil water that will in turn create steam to drive the turbines to generate electricity! BrightSource plans to build these power plants in the California desert.
The plants will utilize hundreds of heliostats that will keep the light focused on the receiver even as the sun moves across the sky. Electric gear motors and computer controlled tracking devices will keep the mirrored heliostats in perfect alignment to the receiver from dawn to dusk.
Passive solar energy is a great option for businesses or homes, however many people still want traditional style homes! The idea of having large windows that face the sun and only having small windows on the shaded side of the home, isn’t something that is catching on quickly. The next best choice may be to have heliostats directing the sunlight where it’s needed!