Converting Deserts to Solar power plants

This topic is not very new to people. For the past few years many countries and big companies have been already thinking about this in detail. For a good power plan to run, the primary thing is the hot sun. We have enough of that in desert region and we don't make use of that for any other activity. So, the question is if we can utilize desert floors to build a mega power plant. Today I was a bit curious to identify answers for that question. I went through the internet and found some impressive answers to that question.

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It looks like the concept was already thought very well and implemented in some of the countries. Desert solar project is already functional in some of the desert regions already. This is what I found after investing some time in reading more about desert power plants. It is quite obvious that we cannot use the desert floor for any other activities because there is no vegetation and the only thing that we can see there is the Hot sun. But after implementation of the power plant, it can be quite challenging for the workers to do maintenance activity there.

What are the challenges?

There are quite a few challenges someone can foresee in implementing a desert power plant. The first and foremost thing is the cost involved in this project. Compared to the implementation in other regions, a desert power plant can cost more because of the challenges we have in implementation. Gets discuss about the challenges one by one.

Costs

Starting a power plant is not an easy activity. It requires lots of space along with approvals and maintenance plan as well. In order to do all these things, it requires high cost. Usually the investors are highly dependent on the loans they get to start their project. When they go and approach a bank asking loan for a desert power plant, it may not be very easy to acquire the loan. Compared to implementing on other landscapes the desert implementation cost will be higher.

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Implementation challenges

Compared to the other places in desert one major problem is keeping the power plant intact in the sand that a desert will usually have. They have to plan and implement the plant in some kind of elevated surface so that the plant is not disturbed by the sand and wind that frequently blows in the desert. There is also a possibility that desert sand can completely cover the power plant due to heavy wind blow. We all know that in desert the sand and sand dunes frequently shift from one place to another. We have to plan the power plant in such a way that it doesn't affect the power plant that we implemented.

Maintenance challenges

It is not very easy for a team to stay in the desert taking care of the power plant and doing the maintenance activity. If every maintenance plan is automated, then it shouldn't be a problem but it will not be practical to automate everything without human intervention. If there are any issues somewhere, it can become highly tiring and challenging for a worker to work and fix the issue in between the desert.

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Even if we are planning to implement solar power plants in desert regions, we should be considering few things in our mind. We cannot completely declare that desert regions are unfit for building and maintaining power plants. If we plan about having the below facilities, then even a desert can be a good location for setting up solar power plants.

• A place where we have easy access to roads.
• A place where the wind flow and sand dunes are very minimal.
• Access to water sources nearby so that we can easily clean and maintain the solar power plants.
• A place where we have ample sunny days.
• A place that also stays close to high-power transmission lines or at least has a capability to setup high power transmission lines.

The above video is the Ivanpah Solar Farm which is the biggest solar power station in the world. If we can have a concrete plan, our deserts can be converted into such beautiful solar power stations. The aerial view of the above power plant is really amazing and it motivates us towards a clean energy future.

Existing Desert power plants

Below is the list of some of the impressive power plants that is already driving the world towards clean energy. The below list can be very less but there are some even massive projects emerging and will emerge in the years to come.

World's largest solar plant opens in California desert
Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert - Wikipedia
Nevada Solar One - Wikipedia
This Huge New Solar Farm Near Las Vegas Provides Power—Even At Night
Solar power in Chile - Wikipedia
PS10 solar power plant - Wikipedia
Morocco Unveils A Massive Solar Power Plant In The Sahara
Saudi Arabia opens bidding for its first utility-scale solar power plant
Solar power in the United Arab Emirates - Wikipedia