Surrounded by desert and Nevada mountains, 10,347 solar mirrors turn towards the rising sun. Like a scene from an alien landscape, the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Facility harnesses the energy to power 75,000 homes. 

The power plant is located outside Tonapah, a small desert town between Las Vegas and Reno. The panels, or heliostats, cover 1,670 acres of desert in concentric circles. The heliostats reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a large receiver filled with molten salt in the center of the circle. The molten salt is stored for use during the day or night. When energy is needed, the hot, molten salt passes through a steam generation system, heating water to produce steam, which subsequently spins turbines, generating electricity. 

(MORE: Do You Know Where Your Salt Comes From?)

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Technical workings aside, watching these things in action is a beauty all its own. The panels move individually as the sun rises and sets to achieve optimal sunlight, much like a houseplant reaches toward a sunny window. Each mirror is the size of a billboard, stretching 37 feet wide by 24 feet tall. 

Photographer Reuben Wu first saw the solar farm from overhead in an airplane. 

"I was startled by how bright it was," he told wired.com. "It looked like a fake sun."

(MORE: LEDs on Drones Make North American Landscapes Look Like Another Planet)

Wu visited the site in March, photographing the mirrors at sunrise and sunset. He said their movements are nearly silent, and described it as haunting. 

"It was like being in a forest of metal and glass," Wu said.

The best thing about these panels is that they do not generate any emissions or hazardous waste. It may look futuristic, but the project has been in operation since September 2015. 

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