According to the company, Crescent Dunes is the first utility-scale facility in the world that features advanced molten salt power tower energy storage capabilities.
The 110MW project will generate around 500,000MW-hours per year, enough to power 75,000 homes, as a result of the advanced energy storage technology.
Under a 25-year power purchase agreement, Nevada’s electric utility NV Energy will buy the electricity generated by the project.
The full commercial operation of the project is scheduled for later in 2014.
SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith said the start of commissioning of the Crescent Dunes solar power plant marks a critical milestone for the project as well as the solar industry.
"We are now able to build utility-scale power plants, fueled only by the sun, which operate on-demand, day and night, just like traditional fossil fuel or nuclear power plants," Smith added.
Image: SolarReserve’s 110 MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant located near Tonopah, Nevada. Photo: Courtesy of PRNewsFoto/SolarReserve.
