United States | The irresistible nation

America’s chance to become a clean-energy superpower

Getting the most ambitious energy and climate laws in American history through Congress was not easy. Now comes the hard part

 Mandatory Credit: Photo by Global Warming Images/Shutterstock (5350788a)Workers washing the heliostats to maximise reflective power at the Ivanpah Solar Thermal Power Plant in California''s Mojave Desert is currently the largest solar thermal plant in the world. It generates 392 megawatts (MW) and deploys 173,500 heliostats that reflect the suns rays onto three solar towers. It covers 4,000 acres of desert.VARIOUS
Image: Shutterstock
|Woodbine

THE FUTURE catches you in unexpected places. Drive down Interstate 95, the highway running along America’s Atlantic coast, into south-eastern Georgia and you will find signs and rest stops named after pecans and peaches. Take the local roads to Woodbine, an outpost so far from traditional industrial hubs that a state development officer, a proud Georgian, confesses that: “The nearest civilisation there is Florida.” In this unlikely spot you can get a glimpse of America’s clean-energy future.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The irresistible nation”

From the April 8th 2023 edition

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