OptiSolar to Build Biggest Solar Plant Yet
California based firm, OptiSolar has announced that they are going to build the biggest solar photovoltaic cell plant in the world. Covering 9.5 square miles, the plant is expected to produce 550 MW of energy, roughly 40 times bigger than anything built to date, for a cost of close to $1 billion. This energy is enough to power 190,000 homes.
Construction of the new plant is expected to begin in 2010, though it still requires approval from the local county. Unlike solar thermal plants, PV solar plants do not require a go-ahead from the California Energy Commission, which could save up to two years in the planning and construction of the plant.
OptiSolar is confident in their business plan, which is based on efficiency in costs. They make use of thin film PV which is far cheaper than traditional PV cells. The company claims to use about 1% of what most plants require. However, this does cause a reduction in the efficiency of the solar cells, and thus limit its ability to fight global warming.
As well, OptiSolar is not planning to have their solar panels move to track the sun, making it cheaper to build since there are no moving parts. This will also cut down significantly on their maintenance costs.
Can these cut backs still produce a profitable power plant that is beneficial to global warming? Phil Rettger, an executive vice president at OptiSolar had this to say: “We have proprietary technology and a business approach that we’re convinced will let us deploy PV at large scale and be competitive with other forms on renewable energy”.
Unlike other countries, the US government does not provide much help to renewable energy sources. Countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Canada offer subsidies or higher rates to renewable energy plants which helps make them competitive in the utility market. OptiSolar already has deals in Canada for enough plants to produce 200 MW.
Another are of concern will be the impact on the local environment of such a large plant. According to Reese Tisdale, an analyst with Emerging Energy Research, “Environmental groups will go crazy.” The amount of land taken up by the plant is bound to cause a disruption to the local ecosystem, though arguably at a fair cost to help prevent global warming.
It remains to be seen who will buy the energy from OptiSolar. The plant is planned for a region covered by PG&E, though the company has acknowledged that there have been talks with other big utilities including Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.
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