NRG joins Brightsource on solar project
The majority of solar power projects developed to date have been photovoltaic systems, in which sunlight is turned into electricity using semiconductor materials in panels, but several large-scale solar thermal, or concentrated solar, projects are in development.
Thermal solar power stations like the Brightsource project use mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a fixed point to heat a liquid that produces steam to power a turbine.
NRG, which previously announced a partnership to develop thermal solar plants with eSolar, said construction on the 392-megawatt Ivanpah project in the Mojave Desert had begun and was expected to be in operation by mid-2013.
Ivanpah has received a $1.375 billion conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy for a loan guarantee, and has obtained all permits and approvals from both federal and California state agencies.
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Fire in manhole leaves thousands of Hydro-Québec customers without power
MONTREAL - Hydro-Québec says a power outage affecting Montreal is connected to an underground explosion and a fire in a manhole in Rosemont—La Petite–Patrie.
The fire started in underground pipes belonging to Hydro-Québec on Bélanger Street between Boyer and Saint-André streets, according to Montreal firefighters, who arrived on the scene at 12:18 p.m.
The electricity had to be cut so that firefighters could get into the manhole where the equipment was located.
At the peak of the shutdown, nearly 41,000 customers were without power. As of 7:00 p.m., 10,981 clients still had no power.
Hydro-Québec spokesperson Louis-Olivier Batty said the utility is being strategic about how it restores power.
Because of the cold, it anticipates that…
