ESolar Unveils Sierra SunTower in California

The United States is now the recipient of it’s first commercial use solar tower, which was built in California by eSolar. The tower is 50 miles north of Los Angeles, and has been named the Sierra SunTower solar power plant. 

The solar tower will use computer software to direct thousands of flat mirrors into optimal positions to harness energy from the sun’s heat. The panel with mirrors is installed directly at the top of the solar tower.

The tower works by bringing water up through pipes and then the water is boiled into steam which is then used to power a turbine which generates up to 5 MW of electricity. eSolar has designed the project to be housed on 10 acres of land, totaling 12,000 mirrors.

The Sierra SunTower consists of two of eSolar’s solar modules combined to produce a total of 5 MW of electricity. The power generated by the facility will be sold to Southern California Edison with whom eSolar maintains a purchasing agreement.

The company already has plans to repeat their Sierra SunTower model at other solar facilities across the U.S. and then taking their models facility. ESolar already has an agreement with NRG Energy to develop three new plants similar to the Sierra SunTower in California and New Mexico