SCHOTT Solar GmbH (Alzenau, Germany), a manufacturer of solar-electric modules and photovoltaic (PV) systems, announced that a 64 MW solar thermal plant is being built near Boulder City, NV, which is expected to begin providing power to the grid in 2007. Not only will the plant meet the energy demands of about 40,000 households, it will also dramatically reduce greenhouse emissions. The parabolic trough power plant represents the first commercially operated solar thermal power plant to go into operation in 14 years. When completed, the site will be the third largest solar thermal power plant in the world. SCHOTT will be partnering with Solargenix Energy LLC (Raleigh, NC) for its construction. Schott is one of the partnering companies in the project. Nine parabolic trough power plants, for which SCOTT was also a supplier, are already located in the Mojave Desert in California. These plants have produced a total of 354 MW of solar electricity since their completion. The 19,300 receivers to be produced by SCHOTT will form the heart of the parabolic trough power plant.
Schott's Solar Thermal North American business head Steve Russo stated, "The reduction of greenhouse gases will be the equivalent of removing approximately one million cars from the nation's highways. In addition, the plant will offset the need for hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil every year, thus lowering the demand for foreign energy. This is the ideal solution for the supply of environmentally friendly power to the region. The plant in Nevada will open up excellent new opportunities within the solar thermal industry, not just in the US, but throughout the world."
