Plans for Energy Efficiency in the Mojave

An article by Tiffany Hsu explains the plans for the Abengoa Mojave Solar Project.

After many approvals and receiving a 1.45 billion dollar federal loan from President Obama, the project will soon be getting underway. Getting underway doesn't mean that it will be done any time soon. Construction is planned to begin in the 4th quarter of 2010. The project will be set in San Bernardino County, about 100 miles north east of L.A. The entire project will take up about 1,700 acres of private land.

"The Mojave plant is scheduled to start producing energy commercially by the early 2013. The installation will use technology in which the sun hits curved parabolic mirrors arranged in troughs that heat fluid. The heated fluid then generates steam that produces electricity as it expands through steam turbine generators.

The state is pushing investor-owned utilities to glean 33% of their power from renewable sources by 2020."

Although this plan is not expected to be considered very helpful until ten years from now, the project is still a step in the right direction on our way to becoming "green."