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Take a virtual field trip with Google Earth! Google Earth is a free, online application that uses satellite imagery to allow the user to zoom across the globe in a realistic, virtual environment. Downloading Google Earth is free at http://www.earth.google.com. An overview manual is available by clicking here... Google Earth Overview (342.0K)
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Latitude/Longitude: 34.8658, -116.835
Solar One, which operated at this site from 1982 to 1988, was the world's largest power tower plant. In this plant, water was converted to steam in the receiver and used directly to power a conventional steam turbine generator. The heliostat field consisted of 1,818 heliostats of 39.3 m reflective area each. The project met most of its technical objectives by demonstrating (1) the feasibility of 2 generating power with a power tower, (2) the ability to generate 10 MW for eight hours a day at summer solstice and four hours a day near winter solstice. During its final year of operation, Solar One's availability during hours of sunshine was 96% and its annual efficiency was about 7%.
Solar Two—to absorb and store energy effectively, the facility was modified in 1996 to a more advanced molten-salt heat-transfer system. The Solar One heliostat field, the tower, and the turbine/generator required only minimal modifications. The salt storage medium is a mixture of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate. It melts at 220 o C (428 o F) and is maintained in a molten state (290 o C/554 o F) in the "cold" storage tank. Molten salt can be difficult to handle because it has a low viscosity (similar to water) and it wets metal surfaces extremely well. Consequently, it can be difficult to contain and transport. All tubing, valves, and storage tanks must be made of leak-proof, corrosion-resistant metals. Solar Two has produced 10 MW of electricity with enough thermal storage to continue to operate the turbine at full capacity for three hours after the sun has set.
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