Comprehension: Largest Ever Thermal Solar Plant Set to Open in California

The largest solar thermal plant in the world, a Google-backed project in the California desert, is set to go online at the end of the year. 

Watch the video and answer the questions below.  Decide if the statements are True or False.

1. The thermal plant in California has the highest concentration of sunlight in the world.

a. True

b. False

2. The technology at the thermal plant is different from solar panels seen on roofs of houses.

a. True

b. False

3. Lisa Belenky is against the idea of solar energy because it disrupts the environment.

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

Transcript and Answers:
On the side of a California highway, a field of mirrors shimmers like a mirage. These white-hot, radiating structures make up the largest solar thermal plant ever built.
“This is actually one of the highest concentrations of sunlight in the world, out here in Ivanpah."
Regular household mirrors, called heliostats, track the sun using satellite technology. Boilers atop three towers absorb the reflected heat.
“That boiler can reach temperatures in excess of 500 degrees celsius for that steam.”
Steam, which then drives electric turbines to create energy. This technology is different from the solar cells seen on rooftops because it can even work at night. 
"We can store the sun's thermal energy in the form of molten salt. So we can produce electricity even when the sun goes down. There’s a lot of interest in concentrating solar power around the globe in environments where you have lots of sun such as China, South Africa, the Middle East, North Africa."
But here in California's vast Mojave desert, solar isn't the only thing growing.
“Well this is the amaranth and they’re coming right up through this other bush.”
The Google-backed Ivanpah Solar Project competes with this desert's lush landscape. BrightSource Energy, the company behind it, has already spent more than 50 million dollars to relocate the endangered Desert Tortoise. 
"Even though the desert seems big, when you start cutting it up, and fragmenting it, it can really affect how the species and the animals and the plants, both, are able to survive in the long run."
And while environmentalists generally support the idea of large solar plants, many want habitats like this one to stay intact.
"We should be reusing areas that have already been disturbed: old mining sites for example, either on homes, on businesses, you can on parking lots."
But Brightsource has already presold energy to parts of southern California and they plan to flip the switch at the end of the year. 

Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. b

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