An interesting solar power project

The New York Times recently had an article about a solar power project underway in Florida. Planetgore at National Review has a link to the article.

Florida Power and Light currently operates a natural gas-powered electrical plant in Indiantown, Florida. It occupies 15 acres of land and generates 3800 kWh of electricity. It is building a solar-powered addition that will occupy 500 acres of former swampland and will generate 75 kWh electricity at its peak-- which is only one third of the time and, of course, not at night. According to the Times, the swampland formerly teemed with a otters and wild hogs (and, I strongly suspect, birds).

The cost of this addition is $476 million. When completed, it will be the second-largest solar plant in the world. The solar powered-project uses concave mirrors to focus sunlight to heat oil contained in tubes, which in turn is used to generate steam to power a turbine that generates electricity.

A simple mathematical calculation reveals that over 25,000 acres (approximately 12.5 square miles) of solar collectors would be required to generate the same 3800 kWh of electricity the existing natural gas plant generates using only 15 acres of land. And the solar plant would still require a conventionally-powered plant to provide electricity at night and on cloudy days.

And Obama and his Secretary of Energy think this is our energy future?

Note to environmentalists: another term for swampland is "wetlands."