Ivanpah solar power plant

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System officially opened.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Some of the 347,000 mirrors -- each the size of a garage door -- at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System lay flat before being angled toward the sun.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Unlike other solar power plants, the Ivanpah facility uses reflected light to generate steam that powers turbines.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz stands on a tower overlooking fields of mirrors.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

California is a leader when it comes to clean energy and green technology, a new report finds.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

With the mirrors properly angled, reflecting the sun, a tower is glowing hot, generating steam that powers turbines.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Steam vents from one of the the three towers at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. For peak efficiency, the vapor must be nearly devoid of moisture.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A tower is glowing hot. Extra mirrors are focused slightly to the side of the towers. It is this concentrated light that sometimes creates a misty gauze around the towers.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Some of the mirrors are arranged to form the Google logo at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. Google is one of the partners in the facility.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Electrical lines are draped across the Mojave Desert at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Nearly four dozen bird carcasses were found at the Ivanpah site with burned feathers and wings during the three-month commissioning process.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)