View of smudpv1 photovoltaic panels, with the twin cooling towers of the rancho seco nuclear plant in the background.
Sacramento municipal utility district's one-megawatt photovoltaic facility (smudpv1) is the initial step in a planned five-phase, 12-year venture to construct a 100-mw photovoltaic power plant near the rancho seco generating station. The facility is comprised of 896 photovoltaic panels - more than one million solar cells - mounted in single-axis tracking arrays. The photovoltaic devices, manufactured by arco solar, are made from single crystalline silicon and convert sunlight into DC electricity with 11 percent efficiency. each megawatt of the planned power plant requires about nine acres of land and will produce enough electricity to power 300 homes. SMUD used its own funds, as well as those borrowed from doe and California's energy commission, to finance the initial $12 million megawatt. completion of the entire 100-mw plant is expected in 1993.
Original public domain image from Flickr