The World's Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant

The outlines of a massive solar thermal power plant, the largest ever, are starting to appear in the wilderness outside of Las Vegas. The $2.2 billion project, which is being built by Oakland, California-based Brightsource, stretches over 3,600 acres near Ivanpah, California. When it's finished, it will generate 370 megawatts of electricity on sunny days.

The Ivanpah solar thermal plant uses concentric circles of mirrors that will focus sunlight onto a central tower, generating high temperatures to produce steam. The plant will feature three towers, each with its own set of mirrors. The first unit, in the foreground, is the nearest to completion. By February of this year, workers had begun to install mirrors, which can be seen in the upper left and right sides of the field.