OptiSolar sets sights on world's largest (PV) solar farm (Calif.)

[jpak]

http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9934538-54.html?tag=ne.fd.mnbc

OptiSolar aims to build the largest solar farm in the world some 100 miles north of Los Angeles. It would amount to 550 megawatts and power the equivalent of 190,000 homes.

The Hayward, Calif., company aims to begin construction in 2010, assuming that San Luis Obispo County will approve permits being submitted in May.

OptiSolar's thin-film silicon photovoltaics can be placed close to the ground without needing a dramatic tilt, according to the company. OptiSolar says it uses about 1 percent of the silicon of competing crystalline systems, with nontoxic and recyclable equipment made largely of glass, metal, and concrete.

Nellis Air Force base in Nevada holds the record for the largest solar plant in North America, with 14 megawatts of arrays. If OptiSolar succeeds, its farm could provide nearly 40 times that amount within six years.

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[midnight]

1. I love reading aobut this alternative energy source.