Thanks to the Dept. of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program and similar incentives, solar power has become a major player in the Southwest construction market for the last half-decade or so. Most of these projects utilize photovoltaic technology.
But the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Tonopah, Nev., is a different breed. The $987-million thermal solar plant is expected to generate more than 500,000 megawatt-hours per year using advanced molten salt technology that efficiently and cost effectively stores solar energy—a world first for a utility-scale project.