If just a few weeks ago from Dubai it was announced that the country was working on the construction of what would be the largest solar thermal plant on the planet, now we find that, in the United States, it seems that they have just developed a project that can go further. We are talking specifically about the work that the boys from SolarReserve LLC, one of the largest companies in the development of solar energy that just announced Sandstone, the most powerful solar thermal power plant in the world.
Specifically, and under the name of Sandstone, which is currently known as the project, it is planned to build a huge plant whose cost will be around 5.000 million being able to generate up to 2.000 megawatts, enough to, as claimed by its designers, to be able to power up to a million homes. If we put all these data into perspective, it should be noted that this plant will be installed in the Nevada desert and, charming in size, it will be nothing less than 10 times bigger than the project to be carried out in Dubai.
SolarReserve LLC talks about Sandstone, the largest solar thermal plant on the planet.
To achieve such an amount of power, it will be necessary to install 10 concentration towers y 100.000 mirrors. Their main advantage over photovoltaic plants, hence these sources are chosen for this type of project, is that solar thermal plants can continue to supply energy to any network even during night hours, in this particular case, we are talking about that the power of this plant can be equated with a nuclear power plant and even with what the Hoover Dam can offer.
As for the deadlines to build such a plant, as SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith has commented, it is important to understand that a project of this magnitude must be built in several stages that will be carried out throughout seven years. Construction of the first phase will start in 2019.
Further information: Bloomberg