Crystalline-silicon solar manufacturer SolarWorld Americas announced Thursday that it has supplied 14.2MW of its solar panels for a project in Nevada that combines both complementary solar and geothermal power generation.
The project at Patua, located about 40 miles east of Reno, has placed the solar array next to a binary geothermal production plant, with the installation set up in a way to take advantage of solar’s peak performance periods at times when the geothermal is comparatively less efficient.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
The solar plant, dedicated Thursday, features about 10MW in installed generation capacity, while the geothermal capacity is tabbed at 25MW.
Hunt Electric provided engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the installation, while geothermal energy company Cyrq Energy is the project’s owner and operator. Energy produced by the plant will be sent to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).
Shane Messer, SolarWorld Americas’ vice president for sales and marketing, said: “SolarWorld is proud to see our solar panels contributing to another innovation in the renewable-energy world. This project demonstrates that solar and geothermal are naturally fit to work together.”