LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The landmark Ivanpah solar energy plant along Interstate 15 near the Nevada-California border is past its prime, left in the desert dust as more efficient technology is producing power cheaper these days.
Now, two of the three units at the Ivanpah Solar Generating Station are scheduled to go offline in 2026 in the interest of saving money for California ratepayers, according to plant officials.
Information provided by Solar Partners confirmed that PG&E, one of the largest utility companies in the U.S., is terminating two long-term purchase power agreements signed 15 years ago. Initially, the agreements didn’t expire until 2039, but the plant’s owners offered PG&E an opportunity to terminate purchases from Unit 1 and Unit 3. That went through on Jan. 14.
IVANPAH, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 05 2013: An aerial view of Tower 1 and its heliostats at the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas. (Courtesy NRG, photo by Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images for Bechtel).
Ivanpah is a “concentrating solar power project” that uses mirrors to focus the sun’s energy onto a tower where it heats water, producing steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity. A PG&E news release called Ivanpah an example of how it is reviewing agreements in pursuit of cost savings.
A 2016 article by the Los Angeles Times reported that 6,000 birds die “from collisions or immolation annually while chasing flying insects around the facility’s three 40-story towers.” Workers at the Ivanpah plant have a name for the spectacle: “Streamers.”
The project, developed by Bechtel, had an initial cost projected at $2.2 billion, creating the largest solar farm in the world when it was built. The project, 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, uses 170,000 mirrors, or “heliostats.”
Travelers along I-15 have marveled at the project for more than a decade. It went into production in 2014, a futuristic glimpse at the energy revolution to come. Now, photovoltaic panels are a far more efficient way to capture solar energy. Panels at NV Energy’s Dry Lake Solar project northeast of Las Vegas even capture sunlight reflected from the ground, absorbing energy on both sides.
The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project near Tonopah operates on a similar model, but uses molten salt that gets hot enough to boil water at night. It began production in 2015.
Solar Partners, which owns the Ivanpah facility, includes NRG Energy, Google, and Kelvin Energy. NRG, the plant operator, said Unit 2 is contracted to Southern California Edison and is not affected by this month’s agreement.
“Once deactivated the units will be decommissioned, providing an opportunity for the site to potentially be repurposed for renewable PV (photovoltaic) energy production,” according to an NRG blog.
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