Well, dang it, it won't work!

[Redraven]

Originally Posted by Ultor

Assuming the developers did not inflate all their numbers, Ivanpah's expected lifespan is only 25 years.

Google Invests $168 Million in Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System

25 years? Oh, that is REALLY impressive!
The power plant at Hungry Horse Dam ( Dam details - Hungry Horse Dam - Bureau of Reclamation) on the South Fork of the Flathead River in Northwestern Montana has been running almost continuously since 1952. The generators have been shut down one at a time occasionally for maintenance and upgrades to increase the power output, but it worked properly from the moment it was brought online!

[BruSan]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

This type of plant which is solar thermal should be economically viable long term because the lifetime of a lot of the infrastructure is indefinite. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of places hey can be sited. The article states it cost 2.2 billion and can power 140K homes. Even at half capacity of 70K homes and assuming a $1000* electric bill each year it will pay for itself in 31 years. If they get it up to 100K homes it's 22 years. To that you would have to add maintenance and operational costs.

Point is at some time it goes over the tipping point and it's all gravy after that, it could be making power for who knows how long. Trying to find someone to eat the huge capital costs fo big payoff far down the road is another story, especially considering it may become obsolete in that time frame and superseded by some other tech like geo thermal.

*costs for power generation only

Well yeah but maintenance costs aren't negligible with these things either. Just consider the costs for routine cleaning of those parabolic mirrors. It's not like you can send out grannie with a bottle of Windex.

Positioning motors are likely to be of low voltage DC drive type and they won't run forever so taking mirrors off-line to replace a motor over the projected down-time associated with over 350,000 of them?

The turbine that is the heart of the thing will likely have to spin in the neighbourhood of 35,000 rpm's to reduction gearbox down to provide T/HP to spin a generator. That requires top-line mechanicals and folks to keep it that way.

Of course you can mitigate some of this with performing your routine PM's during dark hours but this thingy ain't gonna run forever all by itself either.

Instead of looking up perhaps we should be looking down?

https://www.extremeiceland.is/en/inf...-power-station