Mirror, mirror in the desert, who is the smartest of them all [Explore 2015-06-01]

Today we are staying at Tonopah, Nevada. North-west of the town is a 110 megawatt solar thermal power plant called Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project. It will start operating later this year. The anticipated to cost is a bit less than $1 billion.

 

This solar power plant can operate 24/7 - hot salt in a big tank stores energy for use at night. A truly large-scale project. An overview video explains it.

 

The title is a play on a tail. The fossil fuel industry is riding on government subsidies and misses the boat. The renewable energy industry is smart and leaping ahead.

 

I climbed up a big sand dune to get a good vantage point. Walking barefoot was the easiest to get up on the dune. You see my steps at the crest.

 

I processed a balanced and a paintery HDR photo from two RAW exposures, then merged them by blending 80% of the paintery version into the lower part of the scene.

 

Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.

 

-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, NEX-6, SEL-55210, _DSC1582_3_hdr2bal1pai1d

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