A Chevron Corporation subsidiary is planning to build what has been described by New Mexico officials as the largest concentrated solar power plant in the United States.  This facility that will not use traditional solar panels, but instead it will use lenses to focus light from the sun onto solar cells.

Governor Bill Richardson and Chevron Mining Incorporated announced the concentrating photovoltaic project in Santa Fe, on Tuesday this week.

New Mexico, ideal location for Concentrated solar power plant

The solar power plant will be 1 megawatt in size, and will be constructed on 20 acres of Chevron Mining Incorporated’s molybdenum mine.  The mine is located near Questa in northern New Mexico.  The new plant should generate sufficient electricity to power the approximately 350 homes in the village of Questa.

The plant will differ from a concentrating solar thermal plant that uses energy from the sun to heat water, generate steam and drive turbines in order to generate electricity.  Instead the solar energy plant uses thousands of lenses to focus sunlight onto high efficiency solar cells.

Officials of oil giant Chevron claim that the technology uses less photovoltaic material in construction, and is up to 200% more efficient than traditional solar panels.

The new concentrated solar power plant will have around 175 solar panels on the 20 acre site, producing one megawatt.  The electricity generated at the site will be sold to Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, by way of a power purchase agreement.

The company plans to start site construction this spring, and they hope to have it completed by year-end.