Putting Solar Panels In The Desert

There are several solar power plants in the mojave desert which supply power to the electricity grid.

Putting solar panels in the desert.

Insolation solar radiation in the mojave desert is among the best available in the united states and some significant population centers are located in the area. Sandstorms can cover the surface of the panels in under an hour reducing efficiency by as much as 80 which means they need to be cleaned at least daily. Heck if the solar panels deployed in germany over the past decade were instead located 1500 miles south in algeria they would generate enough power to run every light and factory in the whole. Putting solar panels in the hot desert seems obvious but there is a problem that gets in the way of solar power paradise.

This could mean everything from putting solar panels on the roofs of homes parking garages and large commercial buildings to constructing a utility scale floating solar project in a giant reservoir. Then there are what s called marginalized lands places like landfills mines and contaminated brownfield sites which many are eyeing as the perfect spots for renewable energy projects. The panels get very dirty very quickly. These plants can generally be built in a few years because solar plants are built almost entirely with modular readily available.

A mojave story brightsource energy is constructing a solar plant in the vast wilderness and has hired a team of biologists to care for and relocate the desert s. In the southern desert half an hour s drive from aswan egypt is putting the finishing touches to benban one of the world s largest solar farms pictured. Even if i had the newer high tech solar panels and i only got 50 to 30 compasity it is better than nothing. In the extreme example of a world mostly covered with solar power climate changes in the desert regions where panels are installed would have widespread environmental effects.

The tortoise and the solar plant. Installing huge numbers of solar panels and wind turbines in the sahara desert would have a major impact on rainfall vegetation and temperatures researchers say. Its 6m panels produce 1 5.