{"id":850,"date":"2025-09-25T02:10:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T02:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/?p=850"},"modified":"2025-09-25T02:10:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T02:10:06","slug":"2-2-billion-again-wasted-on-pointless-green-energy-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/2-2-billion-again-wasted-on-pointless-green-energy-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"$2.2 BILLION, AGAIN WASTED, ON POINTLESS GREEN ENERGY PLANT!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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$2.2 billion solar plant in California scheduled to be turned off after years of wasted money: \u2018Never lived up to its promises\u2019<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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Seen from the sky, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California\u2019s Mojave Desert resembles a futuristic dream.<\/p>\n

Viewed from the bottom line, however, Ivanpah is anything but.<\/p>\n

The solar power plant, which features three 459-foot towers and thousands of computer-controlled mirrors known as heliostats, cost some $2.2 billion to build.<\/p>\n

Construction began in 2010 and was completed in 2014. Now it\u2019s set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the US Department of Energy under President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees for the project and the secretary of energy, Ernest Moniz, hailed it as \u201can example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Three 6<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/div>
Three towers glowing at the Ivanpah facility. VWPics\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But ultimately, it\u2019s been more emblematic of profligate government spending and unwise bets on poorly conceived, quickly outdated technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIvanpah stands as a testament to the waste and inefficiency of government subsidized energy schemes,\u201dJason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, an American energy advocacy group, told Fox News via statement this past February. It \u201cnever lived up to its promises<\/a>, producing less electricity than expected, while relying on natural gas to stay operational.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Workers 6<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/div>
Workers hosing down the computer-controlled mirrors, officially known as heliostats, at Ivanpah. Global Warming Images\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Ivanpah began operating in 2014, it ranked as the world\u2019s largest solar plant. It seemed like a viable solution to California\u2019s renewable energy goals of employing affordable and efficient technology to reduce the need for fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Located near the California-Nevada border, 65 miles southwest of Las Vegas, the plant\u2019s glowing towers are as striking as some casinos on the Strip.<\/p>\n

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\"Solar 6<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/div>
Ivanpah\u2019s towers are 459 feet high. Global Warming Images\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The facility\u2019s 5 square miles of desert were covered with some 173,500 heliostats, adjusted via computer to catch maximum rays. The computer-controlled mirrors can reflect light from the sun at temperatures that can reach 1,000 degrees in part of the installment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was that you could use the sun to produce a heat source,\u201d alternative energy consultant Edward Smeloff told The Post. \u201cThe mirrors reflect heat from the sun up to a receiver, which is mounted on top of the tower. That heats a fluid. It creates steam [that spins] a conventional steam turbine. It is complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though it sounds like a bit of a Rube Goldberg contraption \u2014 and looks like an art installation \u2014 Ivanpah was a cutting-edge idea for a while. But, as the market changed, it couldn\u2019t compete with newer and less expensive forms of creating solar power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt simply did not scale up,\u201d said Smeloff. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an obsolete technology [that\u2019s] been outpaced by solar photovoltaic technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

That tech uses semiconductor material to transform sunlight into energy in a streamlined process. The solar panels you see on many residential rooftops or in endless rows across the desert rely on the technology.<\/p>\n

A statement from NRG Energy, the Texas-based company that was an Ivanpah partner and the largest investor, having put up $300 million, agrees with Smeloff\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

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\"Illustration 6<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/div>
The tracking mirrors, officially known as heliostats, turned out to be a danger to birds that flew through the heated rays. Via Bloomberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen the power purchase agreements were signed in 2009, the prices were competitive, but advancements over time \u2026 have led to more efficient, cost-effective and flexible options for producing reliable clean energy,\u201d a company statement read.<\/p>\n

Ivanpah hasn\u2019t just been inefficient and expensive \u2014 it\u2019s been deadly for wildlife.<\/p>\n

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\"Beams 6<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/div>
By 2026, the light-filled towers of Ivanpah will be no longer. ETIENNE LAURENT\/EPA-EFE\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the Association of Avian Veterinarians<\/a>, the power plant \u201cis believed to be responsible for at least 6,000 bird deaths each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

They get fried \u201cif they fly in the area where the reflection is going up to the tower,\u201d Smeloff explained<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But maybe it didn\u2019t have to be that way. A report published by World Economic Forum<\/a> earlier this year noted that private investors can be more nimble with new technologies than the government.<\/p>\n

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\"Illustration 6<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/div>
When Ivanpah began operating in 2014, it ranked as the world\u2019s largest solar plant. Via Bloomberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cUnlike public market investors, private equity firms can implement transformative changes through hands-on management and aligned incentives,\u201d the report read.<\/p>\n

Steven Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute and former Trump EPA transition team member,\u00a0agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo green project relying on taxpayer subsidies has ever made any economic or environmental sense,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s important that President Trump stop the taxpayer bleeding by ending what he accurately calls the Green New Scam.\u201d<\/p>\n

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$2.2 billion solar plant in California scheduled to be turned off after years of wasted money: \u2018Never lived up to its promises\u2019 Seen from the sky, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California\u2019s Mojave Desert resembles a futuristic dream. Viewed from the bottom line, however, Ivanpah is anything but. The solar power plant, which features […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-green-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850\/revisions\/851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}