The giant Ivanpah solar power plant in the California Mojave Desert recently detailed how much natural gas it burned to generate power when the sun wasn’t sufficient – the equivalent to 46,000 tons of CO2 emissions in its first year, according to reports. Along with its impacts on wildlife and its receipt of federal incentives, news of the CO2 emissions has renewed criticism of the 377-megawatt facility, which supplies 140,000 California homes during peak hours of the day. Why is a solar power plant using natural gas, and does the associated CO2 disqualify it as “green”? The use of natural gas to complement solar in fact highlights a trend toward what I call “speckled green” electricity...
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