The Crescent Dunes solar project in Tonopah, NV has filed again for bankruptcy this week.
Construction on the Crescent Dunes solar plant, 15 miles from Tonopah, Nevada, began in 2011. It consists of 10,400 mirrors focusing sunlight on a central tower. The sunlight heats molten salt in the towers up to 1,050Â degrees Fahrenheit, which is then used to generate steam to make electricity. Leaks in its salt tanks repeatedly shut down operations, leading it to file for bankruptcy in 2020.
The company began looking for a buyer in spring 2024 but has so far not received any actionable offers.
My understanding is the plant is using grid power to keep the salt cooling enough to fatally harden, but that is not sustainable. The ending of that supplementary heating will create a major environmental issue to mitigate.
May be paywalled: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/crescent-dunes-solar-plant-owner-seeks-asset-sale-in-bankruptcy
Source: BlueSkyd2000
5 Comments
No surprise. Some are not giving up on CSP, I see creative things in the works in Australia. But I’ve heard the cost comparison to PV described as “hilarious”.
Ps. In Europe it was proven to not work. Couldn’t understand why it was being built…
Unless it was built to failÂ
Photovoltaic > Concentrated solar
Tech progress has overtaken this. It was worth exploring for sure but clearly it’s not cost effective.
They should replace with a solar array some the infrastructure is in place.Â