The fire is believed to have occurred at electrical cables due to misalignment of the mirrors, which reflect sunbeams. This has resulted in the closure of a generating tower at the world’s largest solar power plant.
Associated Press cited San Bernardino County Fire Captain Mike McClintock as saying that misaligned mirrors focused sunbeams on a different level of Unit Three which resulted in fire at electrical cables.
However, the fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported. Investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the fire.
NRG Energy spokesman David Knox said that it was too early to comment on the incident.
Jointly developed by NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource Energy, the Ivanpah project comprises three separate units including Ivanpah 1 with 126MW capacity and Ivanpah 2 and 3 reach with 133MW capacity.
NRG Energy-operated $2.2bn project, which was commissioned in 2013, features 173,500 heliostats and software that integrates the solar field with a solar receiver steam generator.
Using the technology, the solar farm creates high-temperature steam by reflecting sunlight on heliostats to provide heat to a boiler on top of the tower.
Upon heated using solar energy, the water inside the boiler generates steam, which is connected through pipes to a conventional turbine to generate electricity.
The project also features a dry-cooling technology designed to reduce water consumption by 90%.
Image: The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System located in the US. Photo: courtesy of Business Wire/ NRG Energy, Inc.
