Progress on the expansion of green energy sources has seemed painfully slow in recent years, seeming to cement our dependency on foreign oil in place. Now there is good news on this front from California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced the opening of a very large Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy plant in Bakersfield.

The facility was built by Palo Alto-based Ausra, Inc. in cooperation with Pacific Gas and Electric. The plant will showcase Ausra’s next-generation concentrating solar energy technology and will produce five megawatts – enough to power over 3,500 homes. The technology uses large mirrors to focus the sun’s energy to make steam, which is in turn used to make power.

Ausra CEO Bob Fishman said, “This plant proves that our technology is real, it works, and it’s ready to power businesses or provide process steam for industries now. Ausra is first on the market, providing customers a dependable, cost-effective solar thermal energy system. Some of the best investment minds in the country have backed our technology and our management team’s ability to deliver.”

The Bakersfield plant is the first of its kind in the United States, and is the first solar thermal plant of any kind built in California in almost 20 years. Governor Schwarzenegger noted, “This next generation solar power plant is further evidence that reliable, renewable and pollution-free technology is here to stay, and it will lead to more California homes and businesses powered by sunshine. Not only will this large-scale solar facility generate power to help us meet our renewable energy goals, it will also generate new jobs as California continues to pioneer the clean-tech industry.”

Ausra is a large-scale solar thermal energy developer and manufacturer. Their new technology has dropped the cost of solar power by simplifying the design of concentrated solar systems. The new technology also decreases the amount of land usage required per megawatt of energy. The Kimberlina plant was built in seven months, and made use of Ausra’s 1,000-foot mirror lines, manufactured in a company plant in Las Vegas.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 2:13 pm under Green Technology, Science and technology.

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