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The world's largest solar power plant, made up of thousands of mirrors focusing the sun's energy, has officially started operations in the Mojave Desert, just inside southeastern California near the border with Nevada.

, which covers 5 square miles and has three 40-story towers where the light is focused, is a joint project by NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource Energy. The project received a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee.


The plant, which went online Thursday, is to power 140,000 homes. It was dedicated by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

, "[larger] projects are on the way, but for now, Ivanpah is being described as a marker for the United States' emerging solar industry."


, however, is skeptical of the enterprise, saying Ivanpah is "the first of its kind, and may be among the last, in part because of growing evidence that the technology it uses is killing birds."


Update at 8:20 a.m. ET. Site Is In California:

 Earlier, we said the facility is on the Nevada side of the border between the two states. In fact, it is on the California side. Our thanks to reader Alexandra Kostalas for pointing that out to us in an email. We've corrected the post.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


A previous version of this story incorrectly said the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is in Nevada. It is in California.

Environmental News

he $2.2 billion, 400-megawatt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, which covers 5 square miles near the Nevada-California border and has three 40-story towers where the light is focused, is a joint project by NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource Energy.

Shiny and new: World's largest solar plant opens in Nevada

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