Stone to Silicon

Energy · 1982

Concentrated solar power

Fields of mirrors focus sunlight on a tower to run a steam turbine.

Solar One, a 10 MW power tower in California's Mojave Desert, began operating in 1982. Later plants such as Spain's Andasol stored heat in molten salt to generate after sunset, though cheap PV overtook most CSP.

See it in the living treeWikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Installed solar capacity Latest: 2.4k GW (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Share of electricity from low-carbon sources Latest: 42.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data