Ivanpah Solar Power Facility
| Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System | |
|---|---|
Looking north towards Ivanpah Facility's eastern boiler tower from Interstate 15 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | near Ivanpah, San Bernardino County, California |
| Coordinates | 35°34′N 115°28′W / 35.57°N 115.47°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | October 27, 2010 |
| Commission date | February 13, 2014 |
| Construction cost | $2.2 billion ($2.79 billion in 2023 dollars) |
| Owners | NRG Energy BrightSource Energy |
| Employees | 60 |
| Solar farm | |
| Type | CSP |
| CSP technology | Solar power tower |
| Collectors | 173,500 |
| Site resource | 2,717 kWh/m²/yr |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Solar energy and natural gas |
| Site area | 3,500 acres (1,420 ha) |
| Cooling source | Air cooling |
| Power purchase agreement | >$0.135 / kWh (estimated) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 3 |
| Make and model | Siemens SST-900 |
| Nameplate capacity | Unit 1: 126 MW Units 2 and 3: 133 MW each. Planned: 440 MW gross, Build: 392 MW gross, 377 MW net |
| Capacity factor | 24.1% (2018 actual) / 28.5% (planned) |
| Annual net output | 856 GW·h |
| External links | |
| Website | ivanpahsolar |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
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The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a concentrated solar thermal plant located in the Mojave Desert located at the base of Clark Mountain in California, across the state line from Primm, Nevada. It is slated to close in 2026.
The plant has a gross capacity of 392 megawatts (MW). It uses 173,500 heliostats, each with two mirrors focusing solar energy on boilers located on three 459-foot-tall (140 m) solar power towers. The first unit of the system was connected to the electrical grid in September 2013 for an initial synchronization test. The facility formally opened on February 13, 2014. In 2014, it was the world's largest solar thermal power station.
The $2.2 billion facility was developed by BrightSource Energy and Bechtel. The largest investor in the project was NRG Energy which contributed $300 million. Google contributed $168 million. The United States government provided a $1.6 billion loan guarantee and the plant is built on public land. In 2010, the project was scaled back from its original 440 MW design to avoid disturbing the habitat of the desert tortoise.
The facility derives its name from its proximity to Ivanpah, California, which lies within the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County and which derives its name from the native American Chemehuevi for "clean water".
The plant’s co-owner NRG Energy announced in January 2025 it was unwinding contracts with power companies and, subject to regulatory approval, would begin closing the plant in early 2026, readying the site to potentially be repurposed for a new kind of solar energy. NRG declined to say how much of the $1.6bn loans guaranteed by the government remained unpaid as of 2025.