Catching the sun to generate electricity.Sprawled across a flat, sandy stretch of the Mojave Desert Mojave or Mohave Desert, c.15,000 sq mi (38,850 sq km), region of low, barren mountains and flat valleys, 2,000 to 5,000 ft (610–1,524 m) high, S Calif.; part of the Great Basin of the United States. near Daggett, Calif., a new solar power plant glitters in the harsh, unrelenting sunlight. The top of its tall, central tower glows fiercely in the intense light reflected by a vast, encircling encircling (en·serˑ·k field of sun-tracking mirrors. Known as Solar Two, this experimental power plant uses focused sunlight to heat a mixture of molten sodium and potassium nitrates. The hot liquid, in turn, heats up water to make steam that runs an electricity-generating turbine. "Nobody has ever built a plant quite like this before," says chemical engineer Michael R. Prairie, who heads the Solar Two project team at Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories, which is managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation), is a major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratory with two locations, one in Albuquerque, New in Albuquerque. Last week, Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary Hazel Rollins O'Leary (born May 17, 1937) was the seventh United States Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1997. She was the first woman and first African American to hold the positon. She is to date the only woman and only African American to serve as Secretary of Energy. joined other officials to activate the plant, which is scheduled to operate until 1998 as a demonstration project to determine whether solar energy solar energy, any form of energy radiated by the sun, including light, radio waves, and X rays, although the term usually refers to the visible light of the sun. can be economically and efficiently stored to deliver electricity on demand. A consortium of electric utilities, high-technology companies, and the Department of Energy built the facility at a cost of $39 million. Solar Two is the successor of Solar One, which operated from 1982 to 1986 at the same site. It generated electricity by using sunlight to produce steam directly. The new plant adds the capability of storing the sun's energy until needed. At Solar Two, 1,926 steerable mirrors bounce sunlight onto a receiver at the top of a 300-foot tower. The receiver consists of pipes coated with a special energy-absorbing paint. As the 3 million pounds of nitrates flow through the pipes, the liquid gets heated to 1,050[degrees]161[degrees]F before being drained into huge insulated in·su·late tr.v. in·su·lat·ed, in·su·lat·ing, in·su·lates 1. To cause to be in a detached or isolated position. See Synonyms at isolate. 2. tanks. Thus, it's possible to collect and store solar energy during daylight hours and then tap this heat later that day to produce steam to run a turbine. Solar Two can generate 10 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 10,000 homes. For Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. and other utilities, the new facility represents an alternative method of meeting needs when the demand for electricity is high-for example, during heavy air conditioner use on hot summer afternoons. |
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