Solar power amped up in two new projects

HAYWARD, Calif., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Two solar power plants in California will produce 12 times the amount of electricity of current plants, the companies said.

The OptiSolar plant slated for San Luis Obispo County, will produce 550 megawatts, The New York Times reported Friday. A SunPower Corp. installation, also slated for the same county, will produce about 250 megawatts, the Times said.

Combined, the two installations will cover 12.5 square miles and produce as much power as a small nuclear power plant, the Times reported.

"If you're going to make a difference, you've got to do it big," Chief Executive Officer of OptiSolar Randy Goldstein told the newspaper.

The operations will push solar power into a new era, industry analysts said. The largest solar power plant currently in operation in the United States produces 14 megawatts at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Spain has a 23-megawatt solar installation and Germany is constructing a 40-megawatt plant.

A plant called Nevada Solar One is not the largest, but uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generates 64 megawatts of power, the report said.