Solar plant with molten-salt storage gets green light

Solar Reserve said today it has the federal permitting approvals it needs to begin construction of a concentrated solar power plant with enough storage to operate after the sun goes down.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company said the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the "record of decision" for a 110-megawatt solar thermal power plant in Nye County, near Tonopah, Nev. With the authorization, Solar Reserve expects it can start construction by mid-2011.

This Crescent Dunes project will use a field of sun-tracking mirrors, called heliostats, to reflect light onto a tower that holds molten salt. The heated molten salt flows to a storage tank and then is pumped into a steam generator, which uses a process called a Rankine cycle to generate electricity from the heat.

Solar plant with molten-salt storage gets green light | Green Tech - CNET News