Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project

Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project
Location of Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada
Country	United States
Location	Tonopah, Nye County, Nevada
Coordinates
Status	Operational
Construction began	2011 (2011)
Commission date	2016
Construction cost	$0.975 billion
Owner(s)	Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC (SolarReserve, LLC)
Solar field
Type	CSP
CSP technology	Solar power tower
Collectors	10347 × 115.7205= m²
Total collector area	296 acres (1,200,000 m2)
Site area	1,670 acres (676 ha)
Site resource	2,685 kW·h/m2/yr
Power generation
Units operational	1
Make and model	Alstom
Nameplate capacity	125 MW
Capacity factor	52%
Storage capacity	10 hours
Annual generation	500 GW·h
Website solarreserve.com

The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is a 110 megawatt (MW) net solar thermal power project located near Tonopah, about 190 miles (310 km) northwest of Las Vegas. It was developed by SolarReserve through its subsidiary, Tonopah Solar Energy, and was anticipated to cost less than $1 billion. EPC Contractor was ACS Cobra, which carried out the engineering design, procured the equipment and materials necessary, and then constructed and delivered the facility to Tonopah Solar Energy.

The project includes 10,347 heliostats that collect and focus the sun's thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through an approximately 540-foot (160 m) tall solar power tower. The molten salt circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is then used to produce steam and generate electricity. Excess thermal energy is stored in the molten salt and can be used to generate power for up to ten hours, including during the evening hours and when direct sunlight is not available. Each heliostat is made up of 35 6×6 feet (1.8 m) mirror facets, yielding a heliostat overall usable area of . Total solar field aperture adds up to 12,882,015 square feet (1,196,778 m²).

Under a power purchase agreement (PPA) between SolarReserve and NV Energy, all power generated by the Crescent Dunes project in the next 25 years will be sold to Nevada Power Company for $0.135 per kilowatt-hour. In late September, 2011, Tonopah received a $737 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Ground was broken on the project September 1, 2011. Construction terminated at the end of 2013, followed by several months of testing the plant systems. Melting about 70,000,000 pounds (32,000,000 kg) of salt takes two months. Once melted, the salt stays melted for the life of the plant and gets cycled through the receiver for reheating. The project entered commissioning phase in February 2014 following completion of construction. It has been operational since September 2015.

• CrescentDunes.jpg

  2012 January - The solar tower under construction as seen from a commercial airliner. The eponymous Crescent Dunes are at lower right.

• Crescent Dunes Solar August 2014.JPG

  2014 August - Completed site as seen from a commercial airliner.

• Crescent Dunes Solar December 2014.JPG

  2014 December - Completed site.

Production

Crescent Dunes synchronized to the grid in October 2015 and began delivering energy. The facility was commissioned in February 2016 and will ramp up production over the next year.

Solar Energy production is as follows.

Energy [ GW·h ]

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2016	1.50	9.10	7.10

See also

• List of solar thermal power stations
• Renewable energy in the United States
• Solar thermal energy