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. Solar thermal plants in Nevada and Sicily, Italy will use molten salt systems to store the solar energy generated by the plants. Nevada's Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project got the nod from the state's Public Utilities Commission to go ahead with the 100 MW plant, which is expected to produce 480,000 MW hours of power annually. The plant will use massive heliostats (reflectors) to train sunlight on pipes filled with a molten salt fluid. The heat absorbed by the salt will create high-pressure steam that will turn a turbine and generate electricity. Molten salt holds much of the heat it absorbs so the captured heat can be tapped for up to 24 hours, said technology developer SolarReserve. The molten salt will be re-used as it cools. SolarReserve subsidiary Tonopah Solar Energy has signed a contract with electric utility Nevada Energy to provide power from the plant. The same molten salt technology will be used in Sicily in a smaller thermal solar plant that will work with an existing gas-powered electricity plant.
Quick Take: Spectacular technologies have taken shape as the need to develop efficient ways to store intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind become critical. This is a relatively new, but apparently very promising such technology.
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