After the constraints of it's first large solar plant project in California, BrightSource Energy has offered the new ways for the second giant solar thermal plant project to get out of problems such as the amount of water used and the impact on desert tortoise as well as to get more power produced.
To get more efficient and more environmentally friendly, the company has change some it's project designs to Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System in Inyo County, California, which planned to generate about 540 Megawatts divided into two solar fields of 270 Megawatts of each. The tower of the power plant will be made higher to 750 feet to provide more places for heliostats closer together so it can reduces the shades of mirrors as well as save land use.
The project will use about 85,000 heliostats around the towers built at Hidden Hills which will concentrate the sunlight to focused on water-filled boiler to produce steam to turn electricity turbine. The project will also use 5.12 square miles privately owned Mojave Desert land,which is another of the first project that has used public land.
The project offered by BrightSource Energy is planned to be online by the end of 2015 and able to power about 178,000 homes. A about 500 Megawatts of power produced will be sold to utility Pacific Gas and Electricto. It also expected to reduce about 500,000 tons CO2 emission annually. The company also planned to work together with molten salt storage to extend their operating hours past sunset. BrightSource Energy has submitted it's proposals to the California Energy Commission.
