Crosbyton Solar Power Project

The Crosbyton Solar Power Project began in 1974 as an effort to develop a way to bring down high utility expenses. The Project was created as a collaboration among Crosbyton, the Texas Tech University’s Department of Electrical Engineering, the U.S. Department of Energy and the West Texas Electric Utility of Abilene. The demonstration phase of the Project had a 65-foot diameter mirrored bowl, tilted to track the sun and direct its rays to heat water in a receiver, generating steam, turning a turbine, and producing electricity. On March 20, 1981, the Project generated and sold the country’s first commercial electricity produced from a solar stream. Staffing and funding difficulties led to the project’s demise by 1987.