When I was a kid I had a backyard full of desert tortoise's, they would constantly walk the perimeter along the fence stopping only for the piles of lettuce and greens that I would bring. I believe that crazy crossing device will actually work.
Not only do we get a great video but a unique education from Professor WH….your lay person explanation is Nobel prize worthy… we all love the effort you put in all your videos…your research and explanation are truly absorbing…everywhere you travel in Nowhere Nevada/California is added to my continuing WH bucket list of curious sites to visit… all so X-File-ish…
Totally corrupt Nevada politician Harry Reeking Reid got a similar solar project built in Nevada, near Tonopah called the Crescent Dunes Solar Project(CDSP) CDSP cost the taxpayers a Billion dollars and produces ZERO electricity. A total green energy failure, which is never mentioned by the news media or WH. Because Harry Reid wasted a Billion dollars on nothing...they named the Vegas airport after the sink pig.
Flying over that installation in the afternoon sun on approach to SNA in Southern California the tops of those collectors almost look like a fuzzy glow. They are so bright that you almost feel that you should not be looking at them for fear of eye damage.
When I flew into Vegas from South Africa 2 years ago, I saw those from the plane and took some pics. I was convinced they were UFOs!!! 😄😄 So yeah, I am totally fascinated by them. Thank you for doing this video, my daughter's and I are completely crazy about your channel! ❤️❤️❤️
Whenever I head out of Searchlight heading towards Nipton you get the full view of that solar farm .. 1st time I saw it I thought it was some kind of lake! Thanks for the techical info .. you may not be 100% correct but close enough, eh! LOL 🤠
i go by this every few weeks as I have to go to Utah for work from Palm Springs - it hurts my eyes so I don't look at the focal point. Also at home I used frames from the really big old style elliptical /parabolic antennas to make a solar powered BBQ -- I used flexible shower mirrors & the focal point for those is only a meter or so above the dish. It gets so hot in the center that I shift the grill or dish out of the focal point - better for soups than the usual BBQ grill ...also clean free energy.
This brings back a forty year old memory of solar one plant at a similar place called Daggett east of Barstow. They did give tours I think it was the first plant of this kind.
Here in Salt lake City they built a deer fence up parleys canyon and a multi million dollar bridge at the summit for wildlife to cross just before entering Park City.
Another way to make steam power by melting salt at 1400 degrees and can maintain some residual heat overnight. Fossil fuel will not be completely replaced by any of these alternative energies.
What a very interesting sight to behold in the desert and what nice way to save the Desert Tortoise and how much money they spent to build the new track for the desert tortoises. I also heard how they spent million of dollars, of your money, to see how dogs poop in there strange way.
They would have to have battery storage and large enough arrays to charge them and send power to users at the same time. The arrays would cover the southwest. Plus with plug in cars and trucks and electric trains the demand is going to be huge. Hydrogen is the way to go.
If you drove over the mountains west of the solar farm, certainly you went to the Colosseum Mine? If so, Im sure a video will follow! Such an awesome place!
Seeing Sarah Jane on top of her vehicle makes me think she's part mnt goat. Who would ever think in the desert that so many interesting things can be found. Such a large country. Thank you WH for bringing some interesting sites to us. 👍👍🎅🙋♂️
Great video!! I've noticed those but didn't wonder about them as much as you did so next time I'll stop and really check it out. And, I am a chemist so...That's actually a great layperson's description of the way they work. You didn't drill down to the nitty gritty details but they are superfluous to giving a general understanding. I'm frequently amazed at your ability to get the ideas across without being boring or pedantic! Thanks!!
Thanks for this video. I appreciate how you take the time to study locations and provide history and even technical details. You are better at that than you let on ;-) One thing about Ivanpah...I believe they heat water directly, into steam and don't use salt. However, the plant at Crescent Dunes outside Tonopah does use molten salt in the tower and to store heat energy in two large tanks. That plant can run at night (I worked there for 3 years), but I don't I think Ivanpah can. Anyway, love what you do. And best holiday wishes to you and your followers!
I learned more from your video, than a so called experts video. I've wondered what's it was all about when I drive to Vegas. It's actually, quite impressive. Thanks Wonderhussy.
I actually worked at the Ivanpah station a few years back doing some machining work. That place is huge and amazing.!!!if I remember right, each mirror is 8ft X 10ft. Our instructor at the plant was telling us that they can produce power within 15 minutes after the sun comes up. He also told us about the turtles and other wildlife that is native to the area and if we seen a desert tortoise or some kind of snake or a certain type of salamander or cactus , plant to stop where you are and call this number that goes to the environmentalists office there at the plant and they will come out and document everything and do whatever with the plants and animals. Kinda weird but I understand.....I guess. All in all it was an interesting place to work at.
protecting animals is not weird. its a cost of doing business in nature. and who better to handle it than environmentalists? Im guessing they like animals? Idk
I didn't mean for it to sound weird like it came out in my last comment. What I meant by saying was that if I seen an animal or plant or turtle etc is that I would have to call a number for the environmentalist at the plant and have to wait for him to get there to document and remove what ever animal etc. I work all over the US and have never really ran into this type of situation before until I worked at this plant.i guess it was just weird for me is what I am saying. I love animals and plants as well and wouldn't want to see them harmed in any way.
Curious if you were doing in place machining? Working on the boiler or turbine possibly? I've done a lot of on site machining work at all types of plants as well. Just curious
@@deltamachine2059 yes we were doing in place machining at the time. We were milling off the lugs on this some sort of cage that surrounded the generator. They said that the could get the generator out of there with the lugs on but they had to be machines off so they could get the generator back in.....never really understood why but we machined them of with a climax mill.
Wonderhussy, You investigate your destination before your journey. Your able to give us a concept of the places you visit. You do a great job. Thank You !😊👍🎅
Damn girl you're so cool! I'm so glad I found you. I was looking for the other weirdos that like the weird stuff. I miss the desert. I've always wondered about this place. Now that I've moved to Lake superior, there's other weird stuff up here. Old mines and lots of smoke stacks! They tore a power plant down in town here in Marquette Michigan and the shrapnel world is a sight to behold. If only I was as bad ass as you, I would have been documenting the whole dismantling.
POWER TO WONDER USSEY!!!! YOU ARE LOVED. A crazy Vegas limo driver from the 80's. picked up beach boys and wilt Chamberland. wow almost 2022 djj discoworm
Keep up the good work! I watch your videos every week. It is exciting to hear your storytelling and I appreciate the time you take to research the details for your story.
It's really awesome, my brother in law was a boiler maker on the project. It's neat but not that efficient in reality. They use natural gas to provide power when the sun goes down. They have a crew that has to sweep the dust off all the time .
Enquiring Wonderhussy wants to know. So she investigated and shared with us. Thanks for the forray into alternate energy sources. Those who want more data should use their favorite search engine 😎
The silly thing I heard was that things like these will get a fine if they put out more energy than the grid needs during the day. It will be a dream come true to find a energy storage system that can hold extra energy until it is needed the most.
Having more mirrors would extend the amount of time the plant can operate at 100% capacity. Early morning and late afternoon, I would expect to see all of the mirrors in use. At midday, some of the mirrors would need to be diverted to prevent overpowering the energy collecting towers. That's my guess.
After looking at the facility on Google maps, that place is huge! Mirrors are placed in a circle around each of the towers. Very interesting, thanks for sharing.............
Your awesome and i love this video!!! Because i was on this project! Great job and had some fun out there . Lived in las vegas during that project and enjoyed every minute of it!!! Would love to meet you one day!!
When I was stationed back home in California, USAF in Riverside California, for almost the entire 80s was the first time I saw the tower from the interstate. If you pass by it at the right time of the day you saw three lights coming from the tower. It was a reflection of what I was told coming from the tower.
Thank You Sarah Jane. This is an excellent video of your wide scope of interests. I am an old traveler and have gained much interest in watching you do what you do. This power plant is quite a marvel to see and thanks to you I have new knowledge about these arid parts of the desert. Too bad the lives of these natural habitants have been impacted with capitalistic endeavors. But what ya gonna do ? Progress goes on and moves in Thanks for your video WH you totally rock this 71 yo dude today
In 1970, I saw a picture in a high-school science textbook, of an array of curved mirrors that were placed on a hill. All the reflected light was focused on one point. That point was on a 3 inch thick steel plate. The focused sunlight could burn a hole through the plate in seconds!
The town of Ivanpah was a little building in the middle of no place owned by a guy named Don who was the local San Bernardino county deputy sheriff. My father was partners in a mine that was above the ghost town of Vanderbilt that was the CC Darling mine.Spent a lot of time there when i was a kid
Molten salt probably runs through heat exchanger which is used to boil water into steam which can run standard steam turbines plugged into generators. Molten salt can sustain higher temperatures than water, i.e. anything over 100C/212F water is steam at standard pressure, pressurising water would permit higher temperatures but at the cost of more difficult plumbing. The technology would be applicable to thorium reactors too.
I inspected the railroad out there for many years, and I can tell you that they have Tortoise tunnels under the tracks also., but in the form of corrugated pipe tunnels. Travel safe.
@@IanPunter That name does not sound familiar, I inspected that area between Vegas, Barstow to Fresno from 2002 to 2015. I now inspect the RR's in the Sacramento/Bay area and central valley..
Your "scientific" explanation was plenty good enough for my old tortoise brain. Great video again. Glad you are out and about but still like seeing progress back at the ranch. yep, mix and match to keep us on our toes. And not on the roof of your car!
Very cool! You have to check out the Collosium mine you drove right by it the back way you drove in. There is also a old homestead or cabin structure you drive by the back way to the mine
Wow, Wonderhussy, you sure read a lot about this thermal solar CSP power plant. Most of your dialogue is spot on. I know because I worked in large scale solar power for 13 years, based in California, and am well versed on solar impacts to birds and desert tortoise.
I drove by the solar farm near Needles once and that tower was black. The mirrors were angled so that their focal point was a few hundred feet on either side of the tower. I guess they were servicing the tower. The two focal points in mid air looked like glowing orbs even though there was nothing there to reflect off of. I was surprised to see the tower that usually glowed as bright as the sun was actually black.
I read an article about that kind of facility some years ago. I read that little birdies fly unsuspecting through the reflected beams and then they catch fire and fall from the sky.
There is another one in Tonopah. It was built and initially commissioned by a company out of Spain named cobra. The plant was far out of tolerance with American boiler code (ASME sec 1,8,B31.1 ) Many improper installation practices of all types of equipment. I did a bunch of valve work out there and found probably 90 percent of their critical valves were installed incorrectly and would not function properly. They could never get the plant to run properly and it was never able to meet the projected output. Cobra tried to turn the plant over to crescent dunes and I think a bunch of liability and lawsuits ensued..that plant was a mess. Curious if ivanpah has been more successful?
No, the liquid salt was proposed as the way of storing heat overnight to be able to generate power 24 hours. Salt was abandoned as the system leaked and never could be repaired. The towers use modified water and steam to generate electricity. Oh, and the plant uses a “$hit pot” of natural gas since the salt system never was perfected.
That's right, the liquid salt idea has been around for years but hasn't been used efficiently yet as far as I know and it does run natural gas when the sun is down. Nice idea just not there yet.
@@garyacker7388 The Crescent Dunes Solar Plant did incorporate the liquid salt media for thermal storage. That led to all sorts of cost escalations and eventual plant shutdown in 2019. I suspect there will be attempts to restart it in some fashion.
@@garyacker7388 I was talking to Ed who made the claim: "...Salt was abandoned as the system leaked and never could be repaired." I think your economic explanation is more viable, but, what do I know ;)
Thank You so much Wonderhussy. I wanted to know how The Tortuous were doing I heard they made a Tortuous Town and were slowly re Locating them to the Surrounding Desert?
45th!!! How much carbon fuel does it take to produce the solar energy devices??? i can't quite say that you are sweeter than bee pollen on a summer breeze. I will save that for "Butterfly Spanish".
I spent lots of time out there working on equipment while the place was being built. I had to attend a 8 hr class on turtles just to get a turtle sticker to go on my hard hat. Environmentalists scoured every inch of that 100+ acre facility in 100 degree heat. Gathered all of the desert tortoise and put them in a enclosure. The crows then came in and started eating them. It was like a smorgasbord of turtle soup. They then put a cover over the enclosure.
I drove by there a few times and locals told me dead birds were common. They were saying flying into the solar field was a killer, you think that is bad take a look into the light at the top of the Luxor hotel. It’s so bright birds can not figure out their routes. Look at the Luxor light at night during migration, you will see thousands flying around the lights like bats. Rock on! And Go development!
There was an environmental impact study done on the Solar One (1MW CSP) facility near Dagget, CA back in the early 1980's and it had the same issue of killing lots of birds an insects across a wide spectrum of species -- how these facilities have continued to expand is beyond me... There are better alternatives for electrical production.
Like coal? Nukes produce radioactive waste. Hydro kills fish. Wind turbines kill birds. Oil sometimes spills. Natural gas sometimes requires fracking. You can't please an environmentalist!
There was a small demonstration plant built in Isreal. The Ivanpah generation station is the only large-scale solar concentration plant ever built. Solar voltaic panel efficiency and their fall in price doomed these big bird fryers. Additionally, ivanpah is very hard to synchronize with the existing power grid. Thunderclouds passing over can be a big problem. Ivanpah is a one-off technical relic. Corporate welfare at its finest.
You should go to Crescent Dunes Plant in Tonapah. It fully demonstrates the technology to remove $1 Billion plus from the federal Goobermint, and hand it over to cronies of those in power.
Hi Ed. Fairly recently the contractor paid DOE a substantial part of that money back. That gave them control and now after months of repairs, the plant is running again. Fingers crossed that the future is better for the Crescent Dunes plant.
@@nickhagen398 That is good to hear. I know a few other CSP plants are in operation outside the US. Totally different design companies, project costs and schedules are smaller, and none of the goofiness we see in the US.
So cool that you did the video here I've always wondered about this place I knew it was a solar farm but didn't know all the history of it with the molten salt thank you for doing this video and now I know how to go view it to stretch my legs...
The PV panels,( photo voltaic) convert sunlight directly to DC electricity which then is converted to AC power for direct use in your house. You should look into getting roof top solar for your home in Death Valley. The Ivanpah generation plant uses mirrors to shine sunlight on the towers which heat up a liquid that then heats up water to steam to run a conventional steam turbine that powers a generator. Old technology except instead of heating water with coal or natural gas they use the sun directly.
Interesting about the liquid salts being used because the temperature they can store is much higher than what water can. There is renewed interest in Thorium reactors which also use liquid sodium to generate electricity. Thorium is an element far more common than uranium and safer than uranium too. A problem with the Thorium reactors tested during the sixties was that the liquid sodium was highly corrosive. They must have found a way to deal with that at these thermal solar plants. On the subject of birds getting killed, if these people are really serious about saving birds, they should round up all domestic cats which are estimated to kill billions of birds every year.
Yes very true. Thorium cycle. They could build one out at the former Nevada test site. If the finnicky liquid sodium coolant causes it to blow up? Who cares- parts of that place still glow at night! Well, 'downwinders' in Utah would, I guess?
can use sodium salt lithium salts can get far hotter but lithium salts have not been certified yet so that would also have to be done if you go there between this project and the MSR at Oakridge Inconel-x has been certified for work in high temp. sodium salt environments so we could build reactors right now for that .
Overhere in the Netherlands we don't have these mirror solar heat farms (not enough clear blue skies); we do however have wildlife crossings of all sorts and sizes: from smaller ones for toads and frogs (they migrate!), badger tunnels till major wildlife-viaducts that connect animal habitats in our very populated little country.
The Metric conversion program I have says 550C = 1022F. Here in Australia we have freeway over passes for wildlife to safely cross the freeways near the major cities, have had for many years, but not in country areas, mainly signage to warn drivers to be on the lookout.
Good question!! the way they keep the panels clean is by having a cleaning and technician crew Monday to Thursday from sunrise to sundown. The cleaning crew is in charge of washing and drying panel while the technician crew is in charge of repairing/replacing broken panels cause by high winds or damage cause by animals etc. Lots of rattle snakes and other species of snakes definitely not a job for a regular joe. And they definitely have over 100 employees at the plant.
up where you were on the Clark Mt. is the old mining camp of Ivanpah. then another site in the valley was another , Ivanpah #2. then up in the new york mts on the UP line is Ivanpah #3. you did a vid there at the old house. in the 70s there was a store there operated by an old miner Don Connelly. the yard. was full of relics. He looked just like Richard Boone.
There's one of these near Tonopah, NV too. I was with my wife just outside of Tonopah on a bright sunny day and I saw a weird glowing thing on the horizon. "What is that?" We drove over and found out. As we got closer, I was joking that we found the UFO docking station.
Ivanpah is a mountain. There was a ghost town on the mountain. I would have guessed 800 degrees F, don't know 550 C either. Steam can be heated above 212 degrees and be superheated. They would have to have enough heat to melt the salt. The salt would hold heat longer and even out solar variations. Some have talked about using lead to melt.
Great video. I look forward to each one. Thanks for sharing. I imagine the heat/radiation gets much worse as the birds get closer to the tower top. Definitely agree that the mirrors not positioned correctly have to be down for maintenance of some type So much more to see out there than I realized. It's fun to see the progress on the compound as well. I trust Nuni is adjusting well?
The reflection beams concentrated on the salt towers, produce a beam that is so hot, that if a bird flys through it at the peak times, it will kill the bird instantly.. There are ALWAYS dead birds laying around the ground under the towers.
Not too long ago they were building turtle fences along the roads by Lake Mead to keep the turtles off the roads. They spent millions and tore them all out a couple of years later because they were causing more harm than good.
I've always wondered what the collection media was in the towers. Thanks for answering that one Sarah! And was it slightly warmer being near the arey? Just another one of those, huh I wonder questions and who better to ask then Wonder Hussy! 😁👍✌️
When I was a kid I had a backyard full of desert tortoise's, they would constantly walk the perimeter along the fence stopping only for the piles of lettuce and greens that I would bring. I believe that crazy crossing device will actually work.
Not only do we get a great video but a unique education from Professor WH….your lay person explanation is Nobel prize worthy… we all love the effort you put in all your videos…your research and explanation are truly absorbing…everywhere you travel in Nowhere Nevada/California is added to my continuing WH bucket list of curious sites to visit… all so X-File-ish…
Totally corrupt Nevada politician Harry Reeking Reid got a similar solar project built in Nevada, near Tonopah called the Crescent Dunes Solar Project(CDSP)
CDSP cost the taxpayers a Billion dollars and produces ZERO electricity. A total green energy failure, which is never mentioned by the news media or WH.
Because Harry Reid wasted a Billion dollars on nothing...they named the Vegas airport after the sink pig.
Flying over that installation in the afternoon sun on approach to SNA in Southern California the tops of those collectors almost look like a fuzzy glow. They are so bright that you almost feel that you should not be looking at them for fear of eye damage.
Aviation maps have a warning “Solar Farm Ocular Glare” there
550°C = 1022°F
When I flew into Vegas from South Africa 2 years ago, I saw those from the plane and took some pics. I was convinced they were UFOs!!! 😄😄 So yeah, I am totally fascinated by them. Thank you for doing this video, my daughter's and I are completely crazy about your channel! ❤️❤️❤️
Whenever I head out of Searchlight heading towards Nipton you get the full view of that solar farm .. 1st time I saw it I thought it was some kind of lake! Thanks for the techical info .. you may not be 100% correct but close enough, eh! LOL 🤠
We met a crew at our hotel that worked at the power plant. According to them it was pretty steady work maintaining everything in working condition.
i go by this every few weeks as I have to go to Utah for work from Palm Springs - it hurts my eyes so I don't look at the focal point. Also at home I used frames from the really big old style elliptical /parabolic antennas to make a solar powered BBQ -- I used flexible shower mirrors & the focal point for those is only a meter or so above the dish. It gets so hot in the center that I shift the grill or dish out of the focal point - better for soups than the usual BBQ grill ...also clean free energy.
This brings back a forty year old memory of solar one plant at a similar place called Daggett east of Barstow. They did give tours I think it was the first plant of this kind.
Here in Salt lake City they built a deer fence up parleys canyon and a multi million dollar bridge at the summit for wildlife to cross just before entering Park City.
Hey it provides jobs right?
Another way to make steam power by melting salt at 1400 degrees and can maintain some residual heat overnight. Fossil fuel will not be completely replaced by any of these alternative energies.
Not just any one of them.
What a very interesting sight to behold in the desert and what nice way to save the Desert Tortoise and how much money they spent to build the new track for the desert tortoises. I also heard how they spent million of dollars, of your money, to see how dogs poop in there strange way.
They would have to have battery storage and large enough arrays to charge them and send power to users at the same time. The arrays would cover the southwest. Plus with plug in cars and trucks and electric trains the demand is going to be huge. Hydrogen is the way to go.
Always fascinating to see what you find out in the middle of no where. Thanks Sarah. Have a great rest of the week.
Wish she would respond to comments every now and then
She only responds to me.😊
always entertaining and captioned with love, we deaf love Wonderhussy
I saw them in the spring from a distance. They look so weird from the highway, I had stop for a picture. Cool to see up close 😎👍
If you drove over the mountains west of the solar farm, certainly you went to the Colosseum Mine? If so, Im sure a video will follow! Such an awesome place!
Seeing Sarah Jane on top of her vehicle makes me think she's part mnt goat. Who would ever think in the desert that so many interesting things can be found. Such a large country. Thank you WH for bringing some interesting sites to us. 👍👍🎅🙋♂️
2 mules for sistah Sarah
Someone should set up a 'Tortoise Cam' at the tunnel and see how many tortoises use it.
Tortoises were removed from the area during construction. They won't return. In addition, birds who have flown into the area have been cooked.
Great video!! I've noticed those but didn't wonder about them as much as you did so next time I'll stop and really check it out. And, I am a chemist so...That's actually a great layperson's description of the way they work. You didn't drill down to the nitty gritty details but they are superfluous to giving a general understanding. I'm frequently amazed at your ability to get the ideas across without being boring or pedantic! Thanks!!
Thanks for this video. I appreciate how you take the time to study locations and provide history and even technical details. You are better at that than you let on ;-) One thing about Ivanpah...I believe they heat water directly, into steam and don't use salt. However, the plant at Crescent Dunes outside Tonopah does use molten salt in the tower and to store heat energy in two large tanks. That plant can run at night (I worked there for 3 years), but I don't I think Ivanpah can. Anyway, love what you do. And best holiday wishes to you and your followers!
Seems like you could have an amazing business giving guided tours of many places you vlog! *Wunderhussy's Amazing, Magical Mystery Tours!*
I learned more from your video, than a so called experts video. I've wondered what's it was all about when I drive to Vegas. It's actually, quite impressive. Thanks Wonderhussy.
I actually worked at the Ivanpah station a few years back doing some machining work. That place is huge and amazing.!!!if I remember right, each mirror is 8ft X 10ft. Our instructor at the plant was telling us that they can produce power within 15 minutes after the sun comes up. He also told us about the turtles and other wildlife that is native to the area and if we seen a desert tortoise or some kind of snake or a certain type of salamander or cactus , plant to stop where you are and call this number that goes to the environmentalists office there at the plant and they will come out and document everything and do whatever with the plants and animals. Kinda weird but I understand.....I guess. All in all it was an interesting place to work at.
protecting animals is not weird. its a cost of doing business in nature. and who better to handle it than environmentalists? Im guessing they like animals? Idk
I didn't mean for it to sound weird like it came out in my last comment. What I meant by saying was that if I seen an animal or plant or turtle etc is that I would have to call a number for the environmentalist at the plant and have to wait for him to get there to document and remove what ever animal etc. I work all over the US and have never really ran into this type of situation before until I worked at this plant.i guess it was just weird for me is what I am saying. I love animals and plants as well and wouldn't want to see them harmed in any way.
Curious if you were doing in place machining? Working on the boiler or turbine possibly? I've done a lot of on site machining work at all types of plants as well. Just curious
@@deltamachine2059 yes we were doing in place machining at the time. We were milling off the lugs on this some sort of cage that surrounded the generator. They said that the could get the generator out of there with the lugs on but they had to be machines off so they could get the generator back in.....never really understood why but we machined them of with a climax mill.
Where are you guys located at??
Wonderhussy, You investigate your destination before your journey. Your able to give us a concept of the places you visit. You do a great job. Thank You !😊👍🎅
Damn girl you're so cool! I'm so glad I found you. I was looking for the other weirdos that like the weird stuff. I miss the desert. I've always wondered about this place.
Now that I've moved to Lake superior, there's other weird stuff up here. Old mines and lots of smoke stacks! They tore a power plant down in town here in Marquette Michigan and the shrapnel world is a sight to behold. If only I was as bad ass as you, I would have been documenting the whole dismantling.
POWER TO WONDER USSEY!!!! YOU ARE LOVED. A crazy Vegas limo driver from the 80's. picked up beach boys and wilt Chamberland. wow almost 2022 djj discoworm
Did any security people discover you looking around? Thanks for the tour Sarah!
That was a great adventure. I worked at one place and we had to build snake underpasses.
Keep up the good work! I watch your videos every week. It is exciting to hear your storytelling and I appreciate the time you take to research the details for your story.
It's really awesome, my brother in law was a boiler maker on the project. It's neat but not that efficient in reality. They use natural gas to provide power when the sun goes down. They have a crew that has to sweep the dust off all the time .
What the heck, it creates jobs.
@@martharetallick204 that's typical for a short sighted liberal. But the jobs didn't stay.
Do they have a dead bird cleanup crew?
Nuclear wouldn’t do that!
@@1SAM007 nope, they were trying to find a place for nuclear waste.
@@garyacker7388 92% of “waste” is recycleable……ask the French, they used our technology!
The bird and desert tortoise lobbies are powerful.
Enquiring Wonderhussy wants to know. So she investigated and shared with us. Thanks for the forray into alternate energy sources. Those who want more data should use their favorite search engine 😎
The silly thing I heard was that things like these will get a fine if they put out more energy than the grid needs during the day. It will be a dream come true to find a energy storage system that can hold extra energy until it is needed the most.
Your explanation of this site is as much scientific mumbo jumbo I need. I understood everything you said. Great vid..................
Hi Wonderhussy , I hope you get everything you wished for at Christmas time ! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !!! 🤗🎅🎁🎄⛄🎊🎉
Having more mirrors would extend the amount of time the plant can operate at 100% capacity. Early morning and late afternoon, I would expect to see all of the mirrors in use. At midday, some of the mirrors would need to be diverted to prevent overpowering the energy collecting towers. That's my guess.
Like your current format. Ball cap, pony tail, makeup. Keep it rolling!
After looking at the facility on Google maps, that place is huge! Mirrors are placed in a circle around each of the towers. Very interesting, thanks for sharing.............
Your awesome and i love this video!!! Because i was on this project! Great job and had some fun out there . Lived in las vegas during that project and enjoyed every minute of it!!! Would love to meet you one day!!
When I was stationed back home in California, USAF in Riverside California, for almost the entire 80s was the first time I saw the tower from the interstate. If you pass by it at the right time of the day you saw three lights coming from the tower. It was a reflection of what I was told coming from the tower.
Thank you, NO - don't think I will stop to look at the power plant as I have just had a wonderful view and history of it.
Thank You Sarah Jane. This is an excellent video of your wide scope of interests. I am an old traveler and have gained much interest in watching you do what you do. This power plant is quite a marvel to see and thanks to you I have new knowledge about these arid parts of the desert. Too bad the lives of these natural habitants have been impacted with capitalistic endeavors. But what ya gonna do ? Progress goes on and moves in
Thanks for your video WH you totally rock this 71 yo dude today
Many interests😊
In 1970, I saw a picture in a high-school science textbook, of an array of curved mirrors that were placed on a hill. All the reflected light was focused on one point. That point was on a 3 inch thick steel plate. The focused sunlight could burn a hole through the plate in seconds!
The town of Ivanpah was a little building in the middle of no place owned by a guy named Don who was the local San Bernardino county deputy sheriff. My father was partners in a mine that was above the ghost town of Vanderbilt that was the CC Darling mine.Spent a lot of time there when i was a kid
Molten salt probably runs through heat exchanger which is used to boil water into steam which can run standard steam turbines plugged into generators. Molten salt can sustain higher temperatures than water, i.e. anything over 100C/212F water is steam at standard pressure, pressurising water would permit higher temperatures but at the cost of more difficult plumbing. The technology would be applicable to thorium reactors too.
I watch you because you have good stories.
I inspected the railroad out there for many years, and I can tell you that they have Tortoise tunnels under the tracks also., but in the form of corrugated pipe tunnels. Travel safe.
Did you know a guy with the last name Henry? I was his neighbor in Ontario. He also did what you did for UP.
@@IanPunter That name does not sound familiar, I inspected that area between Vegas, Barstow to Fresno from 2002 to 2015. I now inspect the RR's in the Sacramento/Bay area and central valley..
The last I saw Mr Henry was 2006 and I think he was nearing retirement then so that must explain it.
Oops I misread the 2002 for 2012 so I don't know...
Your "scientific" explanation was plenty good enough for my old tortoise brain. Great video again. Glad you are out and about but still like seeing progress back at the ranch. yep, mix and match to keep us on our toes. And not on the roof of your car!
Will be stopping by this Wednesday
Very cool! You have to check out the Collosium mine you drove right by it the back way you drove in. There is also a old homestead or cabin structure you drive by the back way to the mine
Awesome 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 and watching enjoying your video now awesome Wonderhussy and colorful too 👌😎😄🎄❤️
Wow, Wonderhussy, you sure read a lot about this thermal solar CSP power plant. Most of your dialogue is spot on. I know because I worked in large scale solar power for 13 years, based in California, and am well versed on solar impacts to birds and desert tortoise.
9:27 Hey you can see the Castle Peeks!
They are quite spectacular to see up close.
I use to work for the railroad Vegas to Yermo, Ca route and Ivanpah and Nipton were 2 of our railroad sidings for the train.
I drove by the solar farm near Needles once and that tower was black. The mirrors were angled so that their focal point was a few hundred feet on either side of the tower. I guess they were servicing the tower. The two focal points in mid air looked like glowing orbs even though there was nothing there to reflect off of.
I was surprised to see the tower that usually glowed as bright as the sun was actually black.
That glowing orb is plasma. You can see the superheated air near the Ivanpah towers.
Once again professor WH i learned something new!
Nice video ! Can you show some of the different water works infrastructure through the mountains and desert valleys?
I read an article about that kind of facility some years ago. I read that little birdies fly unsuspecting through the reflected beams and then they catch fire and fall from the sky.
Good idea dating the "Adventure" helps us understand the context. Bob in Nevada
There is another one in Tonopah. It was built and initially commissioned by a company out of Spain named cobra. The plant was far out of tolerance with American boiler code (ASME sec 1,8,B31.1 ) Many improper installation practices of all types of equipment. I did a bunch of valve work out there and found probably 90 percent of their critical valves were installed incorrectly and would not function properly. They could never get the plant to run properly and it was never able to meet the projected output. Cobra tried to turn the plant over to crescent dunes and I think a bunch of liability and lawsuits ensued..that plant was a mess. Curious if ivanpah has been more successful?
No, the liquid salt was proposed as the way of storing heat overnight to be able to generate power 24 hours. Salt was abandoned as the system leaked and never could be repaired.
The towers use modified water and steam to generate electricity.
Oh, and the plant uses a “$hit pot” of natural gas since the salt system never was perfected.
cite source please 😉
That's right, the liquid salt idea has been around for years but hasn't been used efficiently yet as far as I know and it does run natural gas when the sun is down. Nice idea just not there yet.
@@archstanton_live look it up. I know because of my brother in law who worked on the project explained the situation.
@@garyacker7388 The Crescent Dunes Solar Plant did incorporate the liquid salt media for thermal storage. That led to all sorts of cost escalations and eventual plant shutdown in 2019. I suspect there will be attempts to restart it in some fashion.
@@garyacker7388 I was talking to Ed who made the claim: "...Salt was abandoned as the system leaked and never could be repaired."
I think your economic explanation is more viable, but, what do I know ;)
Wow! Thank you Wonderhussy!
Thank You so much Wonderhussy. I wanted to know how The Tortuous were doing I heard they made a Tortuous Town and were slowly re Locating them to the Surrounding Desert?
You were partially correct. They don’t use salt, the part you see glowing is the boiler and use water to be converted into steam to turn a turbine
You always seem to find the craziest sh!t out there Huss...wack stuff 🌞
Clink 🍻
45th!!!
How much carbon fuel does it take to produce the solar energy devices???
i can't quite say that you are sweeter than bee pollen on a summer breeze. I will save that for "Butterfly Spanish".
I spent lots of time out there working on equipment while the place was being built. I had to attend a 8 hr class on turtles just to get a turtle sticker to go on my hard hat. Environmentalists scoured every inch of that 100+ acre facility in 100 degree heat. Gathered all of the desert tortoise and put them in a enclosure. The crows then came in and started eating them. It was like a smorgasbord of turtle soup. They then put a cover over the enclosure.
I drove by there a few times and locals told me dead birds were common. They were saying flying into the solar field was a killer, you think that is bad take a look into the light at the top of the Luxor hotel. It’s so bright birds can not figure out their routes. Look at the Luxor light at night during migration, you will see thousands flying around the lights like bats. Rock on! And Go development!
Yikes, golly, how about that!! I love it.😊
You did a good job splain in things Lucy….thanks for being curious…
If you think that tortoise crossing was expensive, think of the cost of the tortoise fencing around the whole perimeter of that complex.
There was an environmental impact study done on the Solar One (1MW CSP) facility near Dagget, CA back in the early 1980's and it had the same issue of killing lots of birds an insects across a wide spectrum of species -- how these facilities have continued to expand is beyond me... There are better alternatives for electrical production.
Like coal?
Nukes produce radioactive waste.
Hydro kills fish.
Wind turbines kill birds.
Oil sometimes spills.
Natural gas sometimes requires fracking.
You can't please an environmentalist!
There was a small demonstration plant built in Isreal. The Ivanpah generation station is the only large-scale solar concentration plant ever built. Solar voltaic panel efficiency and their fall in price doomed these big bird fryers. Additionally, ivanpah is very hard to synchronize with the existing power grid. Thunderclouds passing over can be a big problem. Ivanpah is a one-off technical relic. Corporate welfare at its finest.
You should go to Crescent Dunes Plant in Tonapah.
It fully demonstrates the technology to remove $1 Billion plus from the federal Goobermint, and hand it over to cronies of those in power.
Hi Ed. Fairly recently the contractor paid DOE a substantial part of that money back. That gave them control and now after months of repairs, the plant is running again. Fingers crossed that the future is better for the Crescent Dunes plant.
@@nickhagen398
That is good to hear. I know a few other CSP plants are in operation outside the US. Totally different design companies, project costs and schedules are smaller, and none of the goofiness we see in the US.
So cool that you did the video here I've always wondered about this place I knew it was a solar farm but didn't know all the history of it with the molten salt thank you for doing this video and now I know how to go view it to stretch my legs...
The PV panels,( photo voltaic) convert sunlight directly to DC electricity which then is converted to AC power for direct use in your house. You should look into getting roof top solar for your home in Death Valley. The Ivanpah generation plant uses mirrors to shine sunlight on the towers which heat
up a liquid that then heats up water to steam to run a conventional steam turbine that powers a generator. Old technology except instead of heating water with coal or natural gas they use the sun directly.
Interesting about the liquid salts being used because the temperature they can store is much higher than what water can. There is renewed interest in Thorium reactors which also use liquid sodium to generate electricity. Thorium is an element far more common than uranium and safer than uranium too. A problem with the Thorium reactors tested during the sixties was that the liquid sodium was highly corrosive. They must have found a way to deal with that at these thermal solar plants. On the subject of birds getting killed, if these people are really serious about saving birds, they should round up all domestic cats which are estimated to kill billions of birds every year.
Yes very true. Thorium cycle. They could build one out at the former Nevada test site. If the finnicky liquid sodium coolant causes it to blow up? Who cares- parts of that place still glow at night! Well, 'downwinders' in Utah would, I guess?
can use sodium salt lithium salts can get far hotter but lithium salts have not been certified yet so that would also have to be done if you go there between this project and the MSR at Oakridge Inconel-x has been certified for work in high temp. sodium salt environments so we could build reactors right now for that .
One of the problems brought up by the tree huggers, was that birds flying through the area were set on fire.
Overhere in the Netherlands we don't have these mirror solar heat farms (not enough clear blue skies); we do however have wildlife crossings of all sorts and sizes: from smaller ones for toads and frogs (they migrate!), badger tunnels till major wildlife-viaducts that connect animal habitats in our very populated little country.
Neat !!!! Love the Channel, you're the "GOAT"😄😄😄
I'll never forget the first time coming from Vegas to the Cali state line ,so beautiful
The Metric conversion program I have says 550C = 1022F.
Here in Australia we have freeway over passes for wildlife to safely cross the freeways near the major cities, have had for many years, but not in country areas, mainly signage to warn drivers to be on the lookout.
Good question!! the way they keep the panels clean is by having a cleaning and technician crew Monday to Thursday from sunrise to sundown. The cleaning crew is in charge of washing and drying panel while the technician crew is in charge of repairing/replacing broken panels cause by high winds or damage cause by animals etc. Lots of rattle snakes and other species of snakes definitely not a job for a regular joe. And they definitely have over 100 employees at the plant.
up where you were on the Clark Mt. is the old mining camp of Ivanpah. then another site in the valley was another , Ivanpah #2. then up in the new york mts on the UP line is Ivanpah #3. you did a vid there at the old house. in the 70s there was a store there operated by an old miner Don Connelly. the yard. was full of relics. He looked just like Richard Boone.
Fascinating. I didn't realize you could get that close to the panels.
maybe ask if you can get a guided tour of the plant, it would be a good video, to go with this good video. thanks
Love ya. Towers like a James bond movie
There's one of these near Tonopah, NV too. I was with my wife just outside of Tonopah on a bright sunny day and I saw a weird glowing thing on the horizon. "What is that?" We drove over and found out. As we got closer, I was joking that we found the UFO docking station.
Ivanpah is a mountain. There was a ghost town on the mountain. I would have guessed 800 degrees F, don't know 550 C either. Steam can be heated above 212 degrees and be superheated. They would have to have enough heat to melt the salt. The salt would hold heat longer and even out solar variations. Some have talked about using lead to melt.
Great video. I look forward to each one. Thanks for sharing. I imagine the heat/radiation gets much worse as the birds get closer to the tower top. Definitely agree that the mirrors not positioned correctly have to be down for maintenance of some type So much more to see out there than I realized. It's fun to see the progress on the compound as well. I trust Nuni is adjusting well?
There’s a place in Wyoming that has bridges for wildlife to cross over the highway. I got a kick over that.
The reflection beams concentrated on the salt towers, produce a beam that is so hot, that if a bird flys through it at the peak times, it will kill the bird instantly.. There are ALWAYS dead birds laying around the ground under the towers.
Thank you Science Hussy .
I heard it takes more energy to keep the salt melted during the night than the energy it produces!
Sarah your music as you creep up on the salt mirrors is interesting. Your special effects are sure adding to your adventures.
Sarah - OMG. Literal LOL again!! "I don't know about you, but I SURE like my POWER...". Made my week again! THANKS.
Thanks for the video and enjoy your journey
Best one ever go girl
I'd sure like to bump into you on your adventures Wonder Hussey, mhm!
Not too long ago they were building turtle fences along the roads by Lake Mead to keep the turtles off the roads. They spent millions and tore them all out a couple of years later because they were causing more harm than good.
They did this in Michigan too. Spent way too much on a fence that is now broken down.
39 degrees and SUNNY ! That's Great weather in the Winter time For the Wolverine State 🎄🇫🇮🇺🇸
I've always wondered what the collection media was in the towers. Thanks for answering that one Sarah! And was it slightly warmer being near the arey? Just another one of those, huh I wonder questions and who better to ask then Wonder Hussy! 😁👍✌️