First Solar’s AVSR1 ranch in California’s high desert has generated 1MW from moonlight:
The AVSR1 ranch is a little over half way through completion, with 136MW of its nominal 250MW (AC) capacity already delivering electricity to the grid.
On Sunday night, local time, on the occasion of a “super” full moon, or “supermoon”, the arrays already in place actually generated 1MW of capacity, its operators were stunned to find when they turned up to work on Monday morning.
The “supermoon” was 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than a “normal” full moon as it moved to its closest point to the Earth for 2013. And while it took the operators a little by surprise, it’s not about to open up any new strategic thoughts, as the moon won’t be this close again till August 2014. That’s not exactly a base-load option.