DESERTEC Foundation: Start. Home. The Solar Project. Coordinates: Solar Two Power Tower Project The Solar Project consists of the Solar One, Solar Two and Solar Tres solar thermal power plants based in the Mojave Desert, USA and Andalucía, Spain. Solar Two was demolished in 2009.[1] Solar One[edit] Solar One was a pilot solar-thermal project built in the Mojave Desert just east of Barstow, CA, USA.
Solar One's method of collecting energy was based on concentrating the sun's energy onto a common focal point to produce heat to run a steam turbine generator. In the late 1970s, a competition was held by DoE to obtain the best heliostat design for the project. The project produced 10 MW of electricity using 1,818 mirrors, each 40 m² (430 ft²) with a total area of 72,650 m² (782,000 ft²).
WikiMiniAtlas During times of high winds, blowing dust is sometimes illuminated by the reflected sunbeams to create an unusual atmospheric phenomenon in the vicinity of the power tower. Solar Two[edit] Solar Tres[edit] Land use[edit] In popular culture[edit] Space-based solar power. Space-based solar power (SBSP) is the concept of collecting solar power in space (using an "SPS", that is, a "solar-power satellite" or a "satellite power system") for use on Earth.
It has been in research since the early 1970s. SBSP would differ from current solar collection methods in that the means used to collect energy would reside on an orbiting satellite instead of on Earth's surface. Some projected benefits of such a system are a higher collection rate and a longer collection period due to the lack of a diffusing atmosphere and nighttime in space. Part of the solar energy is lost on its way through the atmosphere by the effects of reflection and absorption.
Besides the cost of implementing such a system, SBSP also introduces several new hurdles, primarily the problem of transmitting energy from orbit to Earth's surface for use. A laser pilot beam guide the microwave power transmission to a rectenna. NASA Suntower concept. History[edit] Glaser then was a vice president at Arthur D. Le Grenelle II sonne le glas des énergies renouvelables en Franc.