1982: ’Solar One’ Produces Ten Megawatts of Electricity

The US Department of Energy (DOE), working with an industry consortium, puts into operation “Solar One,” a ten-megawatt central-receiver demonstration project in California. The project proves the feasibility of power-tower systems, a solar-thermal power generating system. The system runs until 1988, dispatching electricity 96 percent of the time. [US Department of Energy, 2002 ]