While it used to be called the Gateway to the Mojave National Preserve, Nipton is being called something entirely different these days.
The small historic desert town in California has a new, greener moniker - the “Most Solar Town in America.” With a population of 20 to 250, more or less, Nipton will soon generate about 85 percent of its electricity from solar power.
A new High Grain Solar (HGS) system was recently installed in a new municipal 80-kilowatt solar power plant in the town. The system features 48 single-axis tracker arrays and over 750 panels.
Skyline Solar manufactures HGS arrays consisting of a reflective metal rack with integrated tracking and four rows of HGS panels. Although similar to traditional silicon panels, HGS panels are much smaller.
According to a recent press release, the HGS 1000 includes numerous breakthrough technologies:
- The components of the system are upgradable, making it “future-proof.”
- The cost “delivers ten times more energy per gram of silicon versus traditional flat-panel systems.” Using cooling and concentration components, HGS 1000 also utilizes tracking, reducing the amount of silicon by 90 percent.
- The system offers both reliability and scalability as well.
The plant is the first commercial installation of the HGS 1000. Because the system will provide nearly all of the town's electrical needs, it makes it the highest percent of solar electricity in any town in the U.S.
According to the company website, founded in 2007, Skyline was recently awarded one of the “first patents under the US Patent & Trademark Office’s Green Technology Pilot Program.” Michigan-based, auto-parts manufacturer, Cosma International, supplies the company with the metal used in the reflectors.
Founded in 1905, Nipton is located about an hour south of Las Vegas. If you want to get away from it all, Nipton may be just the ticket!
Besides the adobe hotel, the town has a trading post, a few eco-lodge tented cabins, the Whistle Stop Oasis, a cyber café, a 24-hour coin-operated laundromat and a few homes.
The new system was dedicated last week.
Photo courtesy of Ken Lund via Flickr
Learn more about Solar Power on eBoom’s Solar Energy Learning Page.
Jace Shoemaker-Galloway is a freelance writer from Illinois. While much of her writing focuses on technology, parenting and online safety issues, she has a strong interest in environmental and renewable energy-related issues as well.
Any opinion contained in this article is solely that of the writers, and does not necessarily shapes or reflect the editorial opinions of Energy Boom.
Energy Boom content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be advice regarding the investment merits of, or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of, any security identified on, or linked through, this site.
| Rate this story | Share | Subscribe | ||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
