World's Biggest Bird Burner Scorches Self

The World’s Largest Solar Plant Just Torched Itself

Misaligned mirrors are being blamed for a fire that broke out yesterday at the world’s largest solar power plant, leaving the high-tech facility crippled for the time being. It sounds like the plant’s workers suffered through a real hellscape, too.

A small fire was reported yesterday morning at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in California, forcing a temporary shutdown of the facility. It’s now running at a third of its capacity (a second tower is down due to scheduled maintenance), and it’s not immediately clear when the damaged tower will restart. It’s also unclear how the incident will impact California’s electricity supply.

Putting out the blaze was not easy task, either. Firefighters were forced to climb 300 feet up a boiler tower to get to the scene. Officials said the fire was located about two-thirds up the tower. Workers at the plant actually managed to subdue the flames by the time firefighters reached the spot, and it was officially extinguished about 20 minutes after it started. . . 

Ivanpah has been in the news for its well known propensity to attract and then kill birds, as well as a reliance on external power (natural gas) to get started every morning, produces energy at costs 4-5 times greater than natural gas, and is seeking to delay loan repayment. But other than that, it's been a whopping success.