A massive solar thermal plant, which uses thousands of mirrors to concentrate sunlight, has opened in Spain. The Helioenergy 1 plant, near Seville, uses 121,000 mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generate steam at a temperature of 400 degrees to drive turbines.

Built and operated by E.ON and Abengoa, a Spanish company, the plant is spread over 220 hectares, the equivalent of over 300 football pitches. The companies say the array will generate the average energy needs of 52,000 households and prevent 63,000 tons of CO2 being produced.

A second, identical plant is due to come online later this year.