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China constructs world's first dual-tower solar thermal plant — and it will help generate nearly 2 billion kWh annually (www.thecooldown.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (3 children)

California has one of these solar thermal towers. Quite a spectacle as you drive by on the way back from Vegas.

Interestingly this one does not store energy for 24/7 operations like the one in China. As they are both smolten salt based, not sure why

https://www.theneweconomy.com/energy/the-unexpected-environmental-drawbacks-of-concentrated-solar-power-plants

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oeh, thanks for posting, I know this from Fallout:New Vegas but never looked up the facillity it was based on.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I thought the facility was fake. XD

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

The one in CA doesn't have any salt storage, I think it was built before that tech had been flushed out

One particularly grim side effect of the plant’s construction is that birds, attracted to the insects gathering at the top of the towers, are incinerated as they pass through the beams of concentrated sunlight. According to estimates, this results in some 6,000 deaths every year.

Geez, maybe develop some kind of screen or something

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Damn, I saw a video on why they use molten salt years ago, something about the balance of cost, thermal mass, and the fact that it won't boil off like conventional liquids.