The mother of all solar farms
Boasting 14 megawatts, the biggest and baddest solar farm in the nation is open for business this week. The new farm is located at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas -- oh, the irony. Apparently, the Department of Defense wants to experiment with solar power for possible use at other installations. Covering an impressive 140 acres, this massive lake of silicon will supply about 1/4 of the energy used by the base's 12,000 residents. The solar field is composed of 72,000 panels that pivot automatically, following the sun to maximize their light gathering. Even with this technology, 140 acres = roughly 3,000 peoples' electricity -- not too impressive. Once again, I am reminded of Bob Geldof's opinion of renewable energy.
Why the Department of Defense is interested in solar power, I can't say -- you'd think they might prefer nuclear. It's a pretty interesting undertaking for a government agency basically exists to burn fuel and blow stuff up.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-19-2007 @ 7:01PM
Chris V said...
Why they are doing this probably has something to do with the location. Las Vegas is not only known for having an abundant amount of sunlight, but it is also known for being insanely hot during summer.
Solar power is perfectly situated for satisfying peak energy needs which generally occurs during the day when air conditioners are heavily used. Even if solar does not supply the entire base's needs, it is successful if it can supply the peak need, which also tends to be the most expensive electricity.
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12-19-2007 @ 9:02PM
John said...
Why is there a water behind the solar array!?!?
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12-21-2007 @ 2:58PM
Daniel Lunsford said...
There is water behind the array because that photo isn't of Nellis. The actual photo of the Nellis array is located at http://www.nellis.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/071109-F-1789V-152.jpg
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