Another alt.energy failure - from GreenTechMedia:
More Problems for CSP: Ivanpah Solar Plant Falling Short of Expected Electricity Production
Whether scorched birds are a major issue at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California is a matter of dispute. But the “power tower” solar plant and its owners -- NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource Energy -- might have an even more fundamental problem on their hands: generating adequate electricity.
The Mojave Desert plant, built with the aid of a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee, kicked off commercial operation at the tail end of December 2013, and for the eight-month period from January through August, its three units generated 254,263 megawatt-hours of electricity, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. That’s roughly one-quarter of the annual 1 million-plus megawatt-hours that had been anticipated.
The sun appears very bright to our eyes but there is actually very little harvistable energy per square yard. Great if there is no alternative but lousy for baseload generation.