eSolar, a producer of large-scale solar thermal power plants will host an event in Lancaster, California today. The event is being organized to celebrate the opening of a demonstration facility that is converting the sun’s heat into electricity. The plant will produce five megawatts of energy, which is sufficient to light up 1,500 homes.
The Concentrating solar power systems work by utilizing small, flat mirrors that track the sun with high precision and reflect the sun’s heat to a tower-mounted receiver, which boils water to make steam. This steam powers a traditional turbine and generator to produce solar electricity. eSolar’s plant is the first to use a single tower to make steam, which is slightly more efficient than traditional reflective channel technology.
The two-year-old concentrating solar company claims that the plant produces energy at 13 cents per kilowatt-hour. eSolar has agreed to provide its technology and projects to energy project developers NRG Energy for plants in the southwest U.S. and ACME in India.