The biggest solar thermal plant ever built is in the Mojave Desert of California and generates 80 megawatts. (The biggest single photovoltaic installation produces 12 megawatts.) Solar thermal power prices range from 11 cents to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it more expensive than natural gas generation at its lowest price, around 7 cents, but less expensive during peak hours.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Aside from the sweltering daytime heat and the freezing night-time temperatures, the biggest problem for folks living in desert regions is finding sources of water.

ENGADGET

So is the scale of the logistical challenge of building one of the world's biggest copper mines in the middle of the desert.

ECONOMIST: Booming Mongolia

Right now, the Mojave Desert is home to roughly 400 mw worth of solar projects, the biggest concentration in the world.

FORBES: Options For Replacing Japan's Busted Nukes

Hanford, which the Department of Energy says is the U.S.'s biggest environmental cleanup site both by size and by cost, occupies 586 square miles of desert along the Columbia River.

WSJ: Toxic Radioactive Find Adds to Hanford Cleanup Woes