#8796, October 27, 2012
Series Title
From the Evolution of Ivanpah Solar SeriesArtist
Jamey Stillings (American, b. 1955)
Date
2012Medium
Pigment ink printDimensions
Image : 16 x 24 in. (40.64 x 60.96 cm)
Sheet : 20 x 28 in. (50.8 x 71.12 cm)Credit Line
Hope College CollectionObject Number
2022.18
Label
Along with wind, solar power offers a natural, sustainable source of energy for the future as we transition away from our reliance on fossil fuels. Located in the Mojave Desert of California, Ivanpah is the world’s largest solar power plant. It uses fields of mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on special reception towers. The heat from the concentrated sunrays is used to produce steam, driving large turbines that can produce enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. Despite its environmental benefits, the Ivanpah plant is not without problems. For instance, it still has to burn natural gas every morning to get the turbines started and the mirror fields can be very dangerous for birds that fly into the concentrated sun rays. Still, since the plant came online in 2013 it has reduced carbon emissions in California by about 400,000 tons per year.
