How much land does a parabolic trough power plant use?
In general a parabolic trough power plant uses about 5 to 10 acres land per megawatt of electric capacity depending on whether or not the solar field has been oversized to take advantage of thermal energy storage. One concern often raised about large, central solar power plants is the amount of land required and the potential destruction of pristine desert lands. Solar plants need to be built on flat areas in the best solar regions (such as the Mojave Desert or the Imperial Valley in California). Therefore, they likely compete with agriculture for land availability. The following case study compares land and water use for agriculture and parabolic trough solar power plants in the Imperial Valley in California.
