Problems With Solar Panels In The Desert

Water is an issue for concentrating solar power csp plants like ivanpah the largest solar thermal plant in the world.

Problems with solar panels in the desert.

Solar panels reflect less heat back into space compared to sand. The most significant engineering challenges facing desert solar are windblown sand lack of water and transmission lines. A solar power plant on the edge of the sahara with the capacity to produce 160 megawatts was completed in 2016 wind and solar power plants in sahara could turn desert green. Concentrating solar plants in the mojave desert have brought up issues of water use because concentrating solar power plants with wet cooling systems have high water consumption intensities compared to other types of electric power plants.

A similar claim is that covering 0 6 of the nation s land with solar panels could power the entire country. This means the surface would warm causing air to rise and form clouds. A similar project has been proposed in the united arab emirates and would avoid the struggles of placing photovoltaic panels under intense heat. A larger project covering more land poses problems.

This would mean more rainfall especially in the sahel. Csp technology uses mirrors to concentrate the sun s rays to a liquid filled collector that heats up and produces steam to power a turbine creating electricity. That is equal to 11 200 000 acres or 17 500 square miles more than the 10 000 square miles of the first estimate.