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Why can't they be the silicon valley of energy? Instead of trying to put water where it shouldn't, focus on what it's great at - harvesting lots of solar energy
by acconrad 11y ago
Why can't they be the silicon valley of energy? Instead of trying to put water where it shouldn't, focus on what it's great at - harvesting lots of solar energy with little cloud cover.
- JoBrad 11y agoGood point. But I think they are banking on necessity being the mother of invention, since they are running out of water.
- mettamage 11y agoFor what it's worth as a heuristic, this did work with the Dutch who had an abundance of water and learned how to defend against it. Las Vegas has the opposite scenario. Dutch people did die in that learning process though.
- gonzo 11y agoSouthern Nevada has some very large solar energy projects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Nevada#Solar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_Neva... Problem is, the plants that generate steam need quite a bit of water.
- tyingq 11y agoCompeting with Hoover Dam's 3.x billion kWhs per year selling for $0.02/per is probably not a winning strategy. It does sound like there's some long term issue with levels at Lake Mead though, so perhaps in the future.
- codingdave 11y agoIt doesn't have to compete - there is demand that is not covered by Hoover's production. For example, there are geothermal power plants in Utah that transmit power to Los Angeles. Perhaps Vegas could send solar to LA, and that geothermal power from Utah could go to Salt Lake...