Six of the most beautiful solar farms in the world
There’s no way to get around it – renewable energy is the future. It’s not only better for the environment in myriad ways, but it’s going to be far cheaper in the coming decades, and, you know, it doesn’t run out. In fact, several teams of researchers from around the world have shown that in just a few decades, the entire world could be close to entirely free from fossil fuels.
While massive solar farms are obviously the most efficient way of getting this done, researchers are figuring out how to get solar power into all kinds of things. Just this week, the world’s first 100 percent solar airport, India’s Cochin International Airport, announced that it no longer pays for electricity, and the team behind a biofuel/solar-powered plane says it plans to make the first ever carbon-free flight across the Atlantic Ocean within months.
It’s looking more and more likely that in the future, we could be driving our electric cars on solar-panelled roads to catch our carbon-free flight from a solar-powered airport, and we can’t wait to see what that will look like.
Maybe we’ll even be able to see the incredible, sprawling solar farms of the future from the plane window, and let’s hope they’ll look like the ones we’ve listed below.
The Disney Solar Farm in Florida
Source: Nearmap
It’s adorable, fantastic looking, and so incredibly commercial, but what do you expect when Disneyland decides to build their own solar farm? Currently under construction by Duke Energy Florida near the Walt Disney World Resort in California, the solar farm contains around 48,000 solar panels, all perfectly arranged into the iconic mouse ears shape.
Due to be switched on some time in spring 2016, the Disney solar farm will supply energy to Walt Disney World and the nearby Reedy Creek Improvement District, Mashable reports. Even the most paranoid town in America couldn’t knock something as awesome as this back.
The Chattanooga Airport Solar Farm, Tennessee
Source: Chattanooga Airport
Located on the southwest corner of the Chattanooga airfield in Tennessee, this sprawling solar plant makes use of space that was unusable for aviation purposes. The giant solar complex brings together two solar farms: Phase I, which consists of 3,948 solar panels with 60 cells each, generating 255 watts per panel, and Phase II, which combines 3,542 panels with 72 cells each, generating 310 watts per panel.
The two phases together reportedly produce approximately 85 percent of the airport’s energy needs.
The Planta Solar 10 and 20 (PS10 and PS20) solar power plants, Spain
Source: Wikimedia
The Planta Solar 20 (PS20) solar power plant is pictured here alongside its older cousin, PS10. Located in Sanlucar la Mayor, Spain, it once held the title of the world’s most powerful solar power tower, until the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California was switch on in 2014. The Spanish 20-megawatt (MW) solar power tower was completed back in 2009, and has the capacity to power 10,000 homes.
“The plant uses 1,255 mirrors positioned across 210 acres to concentrate sunlight on a receiver mounted on the central tower,” National Geographic explains. “Water pumped up the 160-metre (541-foot) structure and through the receiver boils into steam. This steam is used to turn a turbine to produce electricity.”
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Source: Sciencealert.com
Date: March 2017
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