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Many state governments are taking the lead on renewable energy by contracting with clean sources to supply their power grids. California is one of the most progressive, mandating that at least 20 percent of their power be supplied by renewable companies by 2010. A new solar company called BrightSource Energy is helping to achieve that goal. The Oakland, CA-based company is building a massive, innovative solar field in the Mojave Desert, which will be capable of producing up to 900 megawatts of clean power in the next decade.

BrightSource was founded by Arnold Goldman, who had previously experimented with solar energy in the 1980s. Though his first company, Luz International, failed to catch the public imagination, renewed interest in clean energy he has made BrightSource an early success. The company has attracted influential investors, including Google’s philanthropic offshoot Google.org, Chevron Technology Ventures, and BP Alternative Energy.

Goldman’s success in gathering venture-capital funds is due in part to early projects that have proven the technological capabilities of BrightSource’s solar fields. Dynamic Tower Power (DTP) is a system which employs thousands of small mirrors called heliostats to focus the sun’s rays on a particular spot. The effect is similar to that of using a magnifying glass to start a fire. The heliostats are controlled by a computer, and they are programmed to rotate with the sun, directing the heat energy to a tower topped with a boiler. The water is heated to nearly 1000° F, and the steam produced turns a turbine to generate electricity.

BrightSource’s team of engineers have set up solar fields in Israel’s Negev Desert to prove the efficiency of their design. They are now turning their attention to California’s Mojave Desert, where plans are in place to build the Ivanpah Solar Power Complex. The company will begin building the series of solar thermal plants in 2009. Ivanpah is expected to produce 400MW per year, enough to power 250,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by over 500,000 tons per year. BrightSource hopes to expand their Mojave Desert plans. Their website claims, “If BrightSource Energy plants were built on less than 2% of the land in the Mojave Desert, they would provide enough power for all of the homes in California and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by over 30 million tons per year.”

The possibilities for large-scale solar plants are just beginning to be explored, and BrightSource is at the forefront of this movement. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG &E) has partnered with BrightSource to buy 500MW of solar energy, and other power companies or states with natural solar hotspots are sure to follow. The company has a localized view of renewable energy, making the most of the natural environment in Southern California to improve public access to renewable energy.

Monday, June 30th, 2008 leave a response

By Haley January Eckels