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KJC Operating Co. runs five of the world's nine solar concentrating power plants, all of which are in California's Mojave Desert. KJC's 4,000 concentrators generate more than 400 million kilowatt hours per year‹enough to power 50,000 homes. And, since the greatest amount of solar energy is collected during the middle of a summer day, peak power generation serendipitously coincides with peak demand times. In 1999, KJC's plants produced enough power to offset the purchase of $14 million in natural gas. Together, the nine plants generate more than 90% of the world's commercial solar electricity. Though improvements have brought the cost per kilowatt hour from 12 cents down to 7 cents, gas prices will have to remain high for this technology to become truly competitive.
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