Citizen explorer tries to explain the Ivanpah Solar Power Towers

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the workings of the Ivanpah solar power plant in California, where sunlight is reflected by mirrors onto a central tower to generate steam that drives a turbine for electricity production. Clarifications are made regarding common misconceptions, particularly that Ivanpah does not use molten salts for energy storage, unlike other facilities such as Crescent Dunes and Solana. The conversation also touches on wildlife management around the solar panels and includes a humorous riddle about a tortoise crossing the road. Additionally, there is a mention of the video game Fallout: New Vegas, which features a fictional solar facility inspired by real-world technology. The overall emphasis is on distinguishing accurate information from misinformation regarding solar energy technology.
symbolipoint
Homework Helper
Education Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
7,544
Reaction score
1,993
First, here is a riddle:
Why did the tortoise cross the road?
Because an under-pass was available.

An adventurer and desert explorer visited and tried to explain the workings of the solar powered towers at Ivanpah, in the Mojave Desert in California. The person is not any kind of scientist nor engineer, so I wonder if some members on Physicsforums can explain better how those towers work. The person also gave some discussion about dealing with and controlling wildlife in and around the panels and the towers.

Here's the YouTube link.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Do you have a specific question about the tower?

In general, this is one of the simplest power plants to describe. Sun is reflected off of a bunch of mirrors which are aimed at a central tower. The sunlight on the tower is used to make steam which in turn operates a turbine generator to make electricity. That's it: Sun -> Heat -> Steam -> Turbine -> Electric generator
 
  • Like
Likes russ_watters and phinds
There's a lot of misinformation, along with the good info, in the video. So I would take the information given in the video with a grain of salt (Ha! I said "salt"!). But it's not all wrong. There's accurate information intermingled within some misguided opinions and misinformation.

First off, the Ivahpah plant doesn't use salts. (Unless things have changed recently.) It heats up water directly to steam. Maybe she's confused as to which solar plant she's visiting.

The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Facility, and the Solana Generating Station, do use salts, however.

CrescentDunesSolar529px.png

Figure 1. Real world operation of Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Facility

Anyway, what she says about the salt "boiling" is incorrect. The salt melts into a liquid. The molten salt then heats up water to a boil (creating steam), and the steam runs the turbines. The salt itself does not vaporize.

Molten salt can store a lot of energy. This is similar to how a Hot-Pocket(TM), or a tightly wrapped burrito, can (and will, as inevitably is the case) burn the roof of your mouth long after you've taken it out of the kitchen microwave. Imagine a super burrito that stores lots and lots of heat, and can (and will) burn the roof of your mouth well into the night.

--------------------------------

If you're into video games, you'll get some fun experience running around in a concentrated solar facility in Fallout: New Vegas, in the Helios One facility. There are several plot points that revolve around this facility, so if you play the game, you can't miss it.

1000?cb=20101111201829.jpg

Figure 2. Fictional Helios One facility in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.

The Fallout: New Vegas version doesn't have nearby tortoises, but it does have radscorpions, giant ants, and maybe a deathclaw or two in the vicinity.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes russ_watters
Similar to the 2024 thread, here I start the 2025 thread. As always it is getting increasingly difficult to predict, so I will make a list based on other article predictions. You can also leave your prediction here. Here are the predictions of 2024 that did not make it: Peter Shor, David Deutsch and all the rest of the quantum computing community (various sources) Pablo Jarrillo Herrero, Allan McDonald and Rafi Bistritzer for magic angle in twisted graphene (various sources) Christoph...
Thread 'My experience as a hostage'
I believe it was the summer of 2001 that I made a trip to Peru for my work. I was a private contractor doing automation engineering and programming for various companies, including Frito Lay. Frito had purchased a snack food plant near Lima, Peru, and sent me down to oversee the upgrades to the systems and the startup. Peru was still suffering the ills of a recent civil war and I knew it was dicey, but the money was too good to pass up. It was a long trip to Lima; about 14 hours of airtime...
Back
Top