Schwarzenegger launches thermal energy plant

Solar power specialist Ausra has launched the first solar thermal energy plant in California for nearly 20 years with help from state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant in Bakersfield which the company claims should be able to generate 5MWs of electricity – enough to power 3,500 homes in central California. The plant is the first solar facility in the country to use Ausra's next generation technology and the first solar thermal plant of any type to be build in California in nearly 20 years, the company has claimed.

"This next generation solar power plant is further evidence that reliable, renewable and pollution-free technology is here to stay, and it will lead to more California homes and businesses powered by sunshine." said governor Schwarzenegger. "Not only will this large-scale solar facility generate power to meet our renewable goals, it will also generate new jobs as California continues to pioneer the cleantech industry."

Ausra, based in Palo Alto, said it has reduced the cost of solar power by simplifying the design of its systems, which also helps to make land-use more efficient. The company claims it built the Kimberlina plant in just seven months.

Unlike photovoltaic solar panels, which convert the light from the sun into electricity and are commonly rooftop mounted, solar thermal facilities use large fields of mirrors to concentrate and capture the sun's heat, Ausra claims. The company's technology uses heat focused on tubes of water to create steam that drives large power turbines and high-temperature, process steam for industrial uses.

Earlier this month, California published a radical climate change plan, outlining its intention to have the wide-ranging policy proposals formally approved by the end of the year, and up and running by 2012. The so-called AB32 scoping plan sets out the policy measures required to ensure the state meets its high-profile 2006 commitment to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.