Fate of Arizona Solar Farm Rests on Groundwater Supply

The Kalauplai Solar Farm received its Certificate of Environmental Compatibility from the Arizona Corporate Commission but is facing a hurdle due to its necessary consumption of water for cooling.  The 2 billion dollar project, located on a 4000 acre parcel of privately owned land 27 miles north of Skinner, is a parabolic trough farm. These farms utilize long trough shaped parabolic reflectors with a pipe that runs down the center at the point where the suns rays are the most concentrated.  This pipe contains a liquid, generally oil, that is heated  by the sun to produce steam and power a generator.  Unlike the photovoltaic panel arrays that convert light photons directly to electricity, that most people are familiar with from seeing them on rooftops, these parabolic systems need a great deal of water to cool down components.
Original plans were to use the water from a reclamation plant nearby for cooling but it appears that the plants full capacity will not be ready in time, therefore the utility's dependency on ground water is the only option for operation to remain cost effective.

Photo by Goddessjoy c/o Photobucket

A similar parabolic trough system has been approved for construction in Nye County, Nevada
Parabolic trough technology has history dating back to at least 1912 when a farm was first built in Meadi, Egypt by a Philadelphia solar visionary and entrepreneur named Frank Shubert.  His plans were ended with the onset of WWI followed by the discovery of vast Middle Eastern oil fields. Almost 100 years later those same oil fields are still posing a challenge to solar energy progress.
Read the whole story as published