#9499, 21 March 2013

Landscape in black and white, of small hills surrounded by white dots.

The Evolution of Ivanpah Solar

Ivanpah Solar in the Mojav Desert of California makes a compelling physical statement about our collective ability to shift from a society based on fossil fuels to one that embraces renewable energy production. In 2010, I initiated the Ivanpah project with a brief fight over its future site before construction commenced. In 2014, Ivanpah Solar became one of the world's largest concentrated solar themed power plants at 173,500 heliostats (347,000 mirrors) focus the sun's energy toward three towers with the capacity to create up to 392 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 140,000 US homes.

Renewable energy projects such as Ivanpah Solar also raise challenging questions about land and resource use, exposing differing perspectives and contradictions within the environmental movement, local communities, the energy industry, and general public. While Ivanpah Solar is located in the American West, the issues encountered during its planning and construction are global issues and relevant to future environmentally-responsible energy projects.