SOLAR BOOM: Sun-Powered Electrical Plants in the USA
In 2014, more energy entered the grid from solar power plants than ever before. Propelled by federal government incentives and California’s legislated decrease in dependence of fossil fuels, construction started on several $1-2 billion power plants in 2011, with most of them coming online in 2014. With so many proposed projects, and so many stalled in the complicated political and regulatory process, it's hard to know where things are really at. Photographers from the CLUI were dispatched to ground truth the current state of solar, and all the major solar plants in the southwest were visited. The largest ones were photographed from the air using aircraft and remote control camera platforms. The result is a snapshot of large-scale solar power in the USA, including the 15 largest plants in the nation that are under construction, partially online, or complete, as of March 1, 2014.
2014 Research Project