CSP-Projekte weltweit - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[meinolf67]

...analog zum PV-Projekt-Thread möchte ich hier Infos zu Solarthermischen Stromerzeugungsprojekten (Concentrated Solar Power =CSP) sammeln.

[meinolf67]

280 MW // 2009 (Finanzierung offen) // USA // Abengoa


Solana Electrical Plant in the Arizona Desert Approved

The Solana Generating Station will generate enough electricity to power 70,000 homes while avoiding over 475,000 tons a year of greenhouse gases that would otherwise contribute to climate change.
by Staff Writers
Phoenix AZ (SPX) Dec 09, 2008
Abengoa Solar has received a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility from the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), one of several key permits necessary to begin construction on its Solana Generating Station solar power plant in Gila Bend, 80 miles southwest of Phoenix.

"We are very pleased with the affirmation of Solana's environmental certificate by the Arizona Corporation Commission," said Kate Maracas, Vice President of Arizona Operations for Abengoa Solar. "This landmark ruling has opened a significant door for further development of this commercial-scale solar project that will power tens of thousands of home and businesses in Arizona."

Abengoa Solar has a Power Purchase Agreement with the Arizona utility APS for the electricity generated by Solana. The plant will have a capacity of 280 Megawatts, which would make it the largest solar plant in the world, if in operation today.

"The site approval, coupled with the renewal of the federal Investment Tax Credit in October brings us a big step closer to beginning construction on Solana," said Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar.

"Nevertheless, we still have lots of work ahead of us. We need until the summer of 2009 to obtain the remaining permits and shortly before that we should be ready to finance Solana, once financial markets improve. Solana is a very strong project with financially stable and experienced development partners, but efforts to make the investment tax credit refundable and the current rate case APS is going through are both important for Solana."

The Solana Generating Station will generate enough electricity to power 70,000 homes while avoiding over 475,000 tons a year of greenhouse gases that would otherwise contribute to climate change.

The plant will employ a proprietary Concentrating Solar Power trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar, and will cover a surface of approximately 1,900 acres. The construction of the Solana Generating Station will create around 1,500 construction jobs and employ approximately 85 skilled full-time workers once completed.

[meinolf67]

50MW // 2010 // Spanien


Sopogy, Inypsa, Omniwatt Plan 50 MW CSP Plant
in News Departments > Projects & Contracts
by SI Staff on Monday 22 December 2008
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Sopogy Inc., the manufacturer of the proprietary MicroCSP concentrating solar thermal energy system, has entered into a solar power agreement with Spanish solar project developer Inypsa Informes y Proyectos SA and German solar project financier Omniwatt to develop a 50 MW solar power plant by Dec. 1, 2010, in Toledo, Spain.

"We are convinced that micro solar thermal generation will be the next revolution in the low-carbon technologies that will define the 21st century," notes Jairo González Monje, general director of Inypsa S.A.

Omniwatt AG specializes in renewable energy power production, project development and financing of decentralized power plants throughout Europe.

SOURCE: Sopogy

[lieberlong]

Siemens erzeugt Solarstrom für Kalifornien

19.01.2009
Das erste kommerzielle Solarturm-Kraftwerk in den USA wird von Siemens mit einer Dampfturbine ausgestattet. Im Ivanpah Solar Complex soll mit tausenden Spiegeln Wasser erhitzt werden.





Das Unternehmen BrightSource Energy baut die Anlage in der südkalifornischen Mojave-Wüste, in der auch das Death Valley liegt. Dort erreichen die Temperaturen im Sommer bis zu 45 Grad Celsius. Technologien für Solarenergie sind ein wichtiger Bestandteil des Umweltportfolios von Siemens, mit dem der Konzern im Geschäftsjahr 2008 einen Umsatz von 19 Milliarden Euro erzielte.

Siemens liefert einen Dampfturbosatz mit einer Leistung von 123 Megawatt (MW). Das Kraftwerk soll Ende 2011 in Berieb gehen. Es wird 35.000 Haushalte mit klimafreundlichem Solarstrom versorgen. Die Industriedampfturbine vom Typ SST-900 mit Zwischenüberhitzung passte die Experten von Siemens Energy speziell an die besonderen Herausforderungen der Solartechnik an.

Hier bündeln einzeln nachgeführte Spiegel (Heliostaten) das Sonnenlicht und lenken es direkt auf einen Empfänger an der Spitze eines Turms. Die Heliostaten befinden sich in einem asymmetrischen Bogen um den Turm. Der Empfänger an der Spitze des Turmes produziert Wasserdampf mit einer Temperatur von 550 Grad Celsius. Dieser steht unter hohem Druck und treibt eine Turbine an. Abgekühlt wandert der Dampf zurück in den Kessel.

Dort wird er erneut erhitzt und durchströmt dann die Niederdruckturbine. Durch diese sogenannte Zwischenüberhitzung erhöht sich die Effizienz des Kraftwerks bei unterschiedlichen Betriebsbedingungen. Darüber hinaus kann die Turbine auch bei Lastschwankungen flexibel betrieben und kann schnell angefahren werden.

Siemens ist Marktführer bei Dampfturbinen für solarthermische Kraftwerke und hat bereits fast 50 Aufträge für speziell angepasste Dampfturbinen mit einer Leistung von 1,5 MW bis 123 MW erhalten – unter anderem eine 19-MW-Industriedampfturbine für das Solarturm-Kraftwerk Solar Tres in Spanien. (IN 2008.01.4)

Dr. Norbert Aschenbrenner | Quelle: Siemens InnovationNews

[meinolf67]

Masdar joins hands with SENER to set up €171 million solar power plant

Posted by Debasish Choudhury on 20 January 2009 at 09:56


Masdar, the energy initiative of Abu Dhabi, will set up a 17MW utility grade solar power plant in Spain at a cost of €171 million in strategic alliance with Spanish engineering group SENER.

According to the SENER officials, who are here to attend the ongoing World Future Energy Summit (WFES), the joint venture between Masdar and SENER is known as Torresol Energy and the solar plant to be set up Fuentes de Andalucia, in Seville in Spain will be called Gemasolar, Khaleej Times Online reported.

Gemasolar is the world’s first utility grade solar power plant with central tower and salt receiver technology and will provide clean and safe energy, apart from creating 1,500 jobs in Spain, the company sources said.

Experts clarified that this is an entirely different technology from the conventional solar PV technology. The project will open the way for a new solar thermal electricity that is a better alternative to cylindrical-parabolic type commercial thermal power plants that are currently being built.

The funding has been secured through the open market with Banco Popular, Banesto and the Instituto de Credito acting as the mandated lead arrangers. This highlights the attractive proposition that the strategic alliance offers in this challenging financial market, the officials said.

The plant will be operational in 2011 and when it generates 17 MW of electricity it will reduce more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The EPC contract for the project has been awarded to a consortium including SENER and AMSA, an ACS Cobra subsidiary. In the consortium, SENER will be in charge of providing technology, the detail design and commissioning of the plant. The technology includes a solar receiver which is able to absorb 95 per cent of the radiation from the sun’s spectrum and transmit energy, the company sources said.

The technology provided includes the innovative thermal molten salts storage system, which is capable of reaching temperatures over 500 degrees centigrade.

In terms of performance and operation, the technology inherent within the Gemasolar plant will treble electricity production in the rest of the thermo-electric solar power plants with the same power but under conventional technology basis. This is due to the fact that the majority of thermoelectric plants, that are being developed, do not have a thermal storage system, whilst Gemasolar has high temperature heat storage that extends the normal operating period of these plants, the company officials said.

Salts, made up by sodium and potassium nitrates, are kept molten using the solar energy collected from the heliostats, so that they store excess accumulated heat during sunshine hours, which makes it possible to continue to produce electricity even when there is not enough solar radiation. Due to this advanced technology, Gemasolar’s autonomy will be 15 hours without sunlight. The high temperature at which solar energy in captured in the salt receiver allows to have more pressurised and hotter steam, which considerably increases the steam turbine’s performance, the officials expalined.

For more information about SENER, please visit: www.sener.es.

[meinolf67]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 36.420.022 von meinolf67 am 21.01.09 16:16:30

17MW // 2011 // Spanien

[meinolf67]

5MW // ??? // Indien


Suryachakra subsidiary to set up solar project in Maharashtra

Posted by Debasish Choudhury on 20 January 2009 at 10:02

Published in: News, India News

Sri Panchajanya Power Private Limited, a subsidiary of Hyderabad-based independent power producer Suryachakra Power Corporation Limited, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited for setting up a 5MW concentrated solar thermal power project at Hingoli.

Suryachakra Power Venture Private Limited [SPVL] has entered into a joint venture with a global leader in concentrating solar thermal technology, MAN Solar Millennium GmbH (MSM) of Germany. MSM is a subsidiary of MAN Group of industries, which is a 250 years old company, and has presence in India for several decades.

The company has already submitted the required papers with the Union ministry of new and renewable energy for registration to get generating subsidiary, a press release on Friday said.

Sri Panchajanya Power is already in the process of setting up a 10Mw biomass power project at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation at Hingoli, the company release added.

Website: http://www.suryachakra.in/html/SOLAR.html.

[lieberlong]

SCE books major solar deal with BrightSource

Utility bills 1,300 megawatt pact as largest solar purchase pact ever

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/southern-california-ed…

[lieberlong]

Neues Solarthermie-Kraftwerk in China

In der Nähe des chinesischen Pekings entsteht das größte Solarthermie-Kraftwerk Asiens, das in Zukunft 30.000 Haushalte in der Region mit Energie versorgen soll.



Laut einem Bericht von “Sciencio” plant die chinesische Regierung die Errichtung eines großen Solarthermie-Kraftwerks. Das Kraftwerk soll in der nähe der chinesischen Hauptstadt Peking errichtet werden. Jährlich soll das auf einer Fläche von 13 Hektar angelegte Kraftwerk 2,7 Millionen Kilowattstunden Elektrizität erzeugen, mit der rund 30.000 chinesische Haushalte versorgt werden sollen. Entwickelt wurde das Kraftwerk von der Chinese Academy of Sciences. Durch das Solarthermie-Kraftwerk sollen jährlich 2.300 Tonnen CO2 eingespart werden.

Das Kraftwerk besteht aus einem etwa 100 Meter hohen Solar-Tower, der von 100 Heliostaten umgeben ist, die die Position der Sonne lokalisieren und die generierte Energie auf die Spitze des Towers lenken. Das Solarthermie-Kraftwerk soll 2010 fertiggestellt werden. (ok)


http://www.dailygreen.de/2009/02/20/neues-solarthermie-kraft…

[lieberlong]

23.02.2009 18:12
NRG Energy, Inc. to Develop Up To 500 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power Plants Using eSolar Technology

NRG Energy, (News) Inc. (NYSE: NRG) has signed an agreement with eSolar, a leading provider of modular, scalable solar thermal power technology to develop solar power plants with a total generation capacity of up to 500 megawatts (MW) at sites in California and the Southwest. When at peak capacity, these units can power more than 400,000 homes with 100% clean solar electricity. The first plant is anticipated to begin producing electricity as early as 2011.

At closing, NRG will invest approximately $10 million for equity and associated development rights for three projects on sites in south central California and the Southwest US and a portfolio of PPAs to develop, build, own and operate up to 11 eSolar modular solar generating units at these sites. These development assets will use eSolar’s concentrating solar power (CSP) technology to sell renewable electricity under contracted power purchase agreements (PPAs) with local utilities seeking competitively priced, zero-carbon solar power.

”This is NRG’s first venture into solar power and it brings an exceptionally important component to the low- and no-carbon focus of our RepoweringNRG program,” said Michael Liebelson, Chief Development Officer Low Carbon Technology for NRG Energy. ”By coupling NRG’s construction capabilities and regional operating expertise with eSolar’s innovative CSP technology, we can advance NRG’s renewable energy portfolio while helping to accelerate development of these important projects on a commercial scale.”

eSolar is currently completing its first commercial demonstration CSP plant in Southern California. The facility will be the first fully functioning solar thermal power tower plant built in the United States. In building this first plant, eSolar is obtaining valuable design, construction and operational insights to provide NRG the foundation for the implementation of commercial scale facilities.

”eSolar’s breakthrough modular power plants use more software and less steel to allow solar energy to be competitive with fossil fuels for the first time ever,” said Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar. ”NRG Energy’s extensive project skills and focus on advancing a diverse portfolio of energy generation technology will help accelerate the deployment of eSolar’s CSP technology in locations across the US.”

eSolar’s global leadership shares an extensive and proven track record of experience in solar technologies and renewable energy projects. By leveraging a proprietary combination of optics and software in a pre-fabricated form factor, eSolar achieves economies of scale while focusing on the key business obstacles that have characterized large solar installations—price, scalability, speed of deployment and grid impact. eSolar has partnered with Idealab, Google.org, Oak Investment Partners, and other investors to develop large and utility-scale power projects around the world.

A conference call to discuss this announcement will be held at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT on Monday, February 23rd, and will be hosted by Michael Liebelson and Bill Gross. The conference can be accessed by dialing 877.407.9205 or 201.689.8054. Send requests for high-resolution renderings of eSolar's plants to Casey Cronin at [e-mail]

About NRG

NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. NRG’s 48 plants provide approximately 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity—enough to power nearly 20 million homes. In November 2007, NRG won two of the industry’s highest honors—Platts Industry Leadership and Energy Company of the Year awards. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, NRG is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of business and environmental organizations calling for mandatory legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include statements regarding solar power development and typically can be identified by the use of words such as ”will,” ”expect,” ”estimate,” ”anticipate,” ”forecast,” ”plan,” ”believe” and similar terms. Although the Company believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, weather conditions, competition in wholesale power markets, the volatility of energy and fuel prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in the wholesale power markets, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, unanticipated outages at our generation facilities, adverse results in current and future litigation, and the inability to implement value enhancing improvements to plant operations and companywide processes.

NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included herein should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results included in NRG’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

About eSolar

eSolar is an Idealab company founded by CEO Bill Gross and CTO Asif Ansari in 2007 to develop, construct and deploy modular, scalable solar thermal power plants. eSolar's approach marries a low-impact, pre-fabricated form factor with advanced optics and computer software engineering to meet the demands of utilities of any size for clean, renewable and cost-competitive solar energy. By focusing on the key business obstacles that have characterized large solar installations - price, scalability, speed of deployment and grid impact - eSolar has developed a proprietary solution to make a dramatic reduction in the cost of solar thermal technology. eSolar is based in Pasadena, California. For more information, please visit www.esolar.com.


http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2009-02/13185976…

[meinolf67]

aus NEF:

Solel begins work on 50MW STEG power plant in Spain
23 Feb 2009 / Solar / Projects & asset finance / Spain
Israel–based solar thermal electricity generation specialist Solel has begun construction of a 50MW parabolic trough power plant in Lebrija, Spain.

[meinolf67]

NRG signs 500MW STEG deal with eSolar
24 Feb 2009 / Solar / Projects & asset finance / United States
New Jersey-headquartered wholesale power generator NRG Energy plans to develop three solar thermal electrical generation (STEG) projects totalling 500MW with technology licensed from heliostat-and-tower STEG project developer eSolar.

[lieberlong]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 36.636.259 von lieberlong am 23.02.09 19:05:33

ESolar to build 1,000MW of solar power plants in India

eSolar, a producer of modular, scalable solar thermal power plants, has announced an exclusive licensing agreement with the ACME Group to build up to 1,000MW of solar thermal power plants in India over the next 10 years.

eSolar names ACME as a master licensee of its modular, scalable technology and grants the company the exclusive right to represent eSolar in India developing its own utility-scale solar thermal projects and working with other companies that want to build solar thermal power plants in India using eSolar technology.

The agreement combines both companies' resources to enable complete project capabilities, ranging from technology development and component manufacturing to power plant construction and operation. Additionally, ACME will make a $30 million equity investment in eSolar.

As a master licensee, ACME will build, own and operate solar thermal plants in India using eSolar's modular and scalable design and will work with other companies to build solar thermal power plants in India using eSolar technology. ACME has already signed power purchase memoranda of understanding for 250MW. Construction will start later in 2009 on the first 100MW of eSolar power plants.

Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar, said: "eSolar has produced the first solar energy that is competitive with fossil fuels. ACME's $30 million commitment demonstrates their confidence in eSolar's technology. We are committed to working with the very best partners, such as ACME, to scale deployment as quickly as possible around the world."

http://research.scottrade.com/public/markets/news/news.asp?s…

[R-BgO]

Grupo Ibereolica, Inveravante To Begin Construction On Two 50 MW CSP Solar Plants
in News Departments > Projects & Contracts
by SI Staff on Tuesday 10 March 2009
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Grupo Ibereolica has signed an agreement with Inveravante - a Spain-based privately owned energy, finance and real estate conglomerate that has taken a 50% stake in two project companies - for the construction and operation of two concentrating solar power solar thermal power plants in Seville, Spain, and Badajoz, Spain.

The plants, which are expected to cost approximately 600 million euros, have all of the necessary permits and authorizations in place. They utilize parabolic trough technology and produce 50 MW each when completed. In addition, the plants can accommodate future upgrading to salt storage and biomass hybridization in order to significantly increase production during the night, the companies note.

The agreement signed by the two companies also allows Inveravante to replicate existing mechanisms on two additional plants.

SOURCE: Grupo Ibereolica

[R-BgO]

Suryachakra Power Corporation Acquires Suryachakra Power Venture
Tuesday June 09, 2009 03:29:00 EDT

(RTTNews) - Suryachakra Power Corporation said that the company acquired its subsidiary Suryachakra Power Venture Pvt. Ltd. Suryachakra Power Venture is setting up a 50 MW concentrated solar thermal power project in state of Gujarat and entered into Memorandum of understanding with the department of Energy and Petrochemicals representing the Gujarat Government.

[R-BgO]

NRG, eSolar Plan 92MW Solar Thermal Project in New Mexico
by: Greentech Media June 12, 2009 | about stocks: EE / NRG
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By Ucilia Wang

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) plans to build a 92-megawatt solar thermal power plant and sell the electricity to El Paso Electric (NYSE: EE) in New Mexico, the company said Thursday.

The project would use equipment from Pasadena, Calif.-based eSolar, whose senior vice president of engineering, Craig Tyner, let slip last week that the company would be announcing, along with NRG, a power contract within a week.

NRG, based in Princeton, N.J., plans to bring the plant online in the summer of 2011. It could become the first commercial solar thermal power plant in New Mexico, the companies said. The plant would sit on a 450-acre private land in Dona Ana County, near the border and about 10 miles from El Paso, Texas.

The deal is the first power sales contract announced by NRG since NRG agreed to pay $10 million to eSolar earlier this year for power projects eSolar had been developing developing (see With NRG Deal, eSolar Shifts from Power Provider to Equipment Maker). The deal with eSolar represented NRG's foray into the solar market, the company said.

Like many other solar startups, eSolar initially wanted to be both a technology developer and power plant owner and operator.

But the costs and other resources required to do both were too high for a startup like eSolar, Tyner said last week. CEO Bill Gross was looking to sell a 10 percent stake in eSolar earlier this year (see Got Money? eSolar Needs New Investors).

The company would focus on selling equipment and licensing its technology for now. ESolar has licensed its technology to the Acme Group, which has vowed to build up to 1 gigawatt of solar power plants over the next 10 years in India (see eSolar's Transformation Continues With Indian Deal and Making Money From the Indian Sun). Acme agreed to invest $30 million in eSolar.

NRG and eSolar said they plan to work together on building up to 500 megawatts of solar farms in California and southwestern states. One of the projects is the 245-megawatt solar farm that eSolar agreed in 2008 to build to sell electricity to the Southern California Edison.

Solar thermal power comes from the use of mirrors to concentrate the sun to heat fluids for generating steam, which is then piped to a turbine for power generation. Solar thermal power developers say they could deliver cheaper electricity than other types of solar technologies, such as the use of solar panels.

Very few solar thermal power plants have been built in the last two decades in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Power plants that use coal or natural gas can produce much cheaper power than those using the sunlight.

At 92 megawatts, the project is small compared with some of the other solar thermal power projects under development in California, Arizona and Nevada.

The largest utility in Arizona, the Arizona Public Service, recently signed a power purchase agreement with Starwood Energy to buy power from a 290-megawatt, not-yet-built solar thermal power plant.

Starwood is hiring Lockheed Martin to design, build and operate the project, which should be completed in 2013.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 37.386.070 von R-BgO am 13.06.09 08:32:30

NRG Energy, eSolar to develop solar plant in New Mexico for El Paso Electric


Posted by Debasish Choudhury on 11 June 2009 at 13:15


El Paso Electric has signed a power purchase agreement for the full capacity of a 92 megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power plant to be developed in southern New Mexico by NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), a national Fortune 500 energy provider, and eSolar, a leading producer of modular, scalable solar thermal power plants. This project is part of NRG and eSolar’s recently announced plans to develop up to 500 MW of solar thermal power in California and across the Southwestern United States.

The plant is expected to be the first commercial-scale solar thermal project in New Mexico when fully operational in the summer of 2011. The project will help deliver clean power for the growing demand in the state and support El Paso Electric’s plans for meeting New Mexico’s renewable portfolio standard. Governor Bill Richardson signed New Mexico’s aggressive renewable portfolio standard law in March 2007 and has enacted 37 incentive measures to attract renewable energy companies to the state.

“With 300 days of sun every year, a highly skilled labor force and a friendly business environment, New Mexico is well-positioned to lead the nation in solar energy production,” said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. “eSolar, NRG and El Paso Electric are helping us make New Mexico’s renewable energy potential a reality.”

“This plant is an excellent example of the kind of projects New Mexico and the rest of the nation need to further diversify America’s energy portfolio,” said U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman. “I compliment El Paso Electric, NRG and eSolar for working to create green jobs in New Mexico that will help to responsibly meet our growing demand for electricity.”

“This announcement is more evidence that New Mexico is a leader in spurring the renewables revolution that will help ensure our nation’s energy security and create the jobs of the future here at home,” said U.S. Senator Tom Udall. “I want to applaud El Paso Electric, eSolar and NRG for making this impressive investment and highlighting the many benefits of implementing a renewable portfolio standard.”

The site for the development is a 450-acre property in southwest New Mexico, about 10 miles from El Paso, Texas near the City of Sunland Park.

“This project with NRG and eSolar underscores El Paso Electric’s commitment to developing more clean and carbon-free energy projects in the future,” said David Stevens, El Paso Electric chief executive officer. “The NRG and eSolar team made the most sense for us due to NRG’s development expertise and the scalability of eSolar’s technology.”

NRG Energy has extensive portfolios of diverse generation across the southwest with plants in California and Texas, including recently completed gas and wind developments.

“This plant will turn New Mexico sunshine into zero-carbon power that is at peak capacity when demand is the highest,” said David Crane, NRG’s president and chief executive officer. “eSolar and El Paso Electric are tremendous partners to maximize the potential of this valuable renewable resource and help efficiently meet New Mexico’s aggressive renewable portfolio standards.”

eSolar’s modular approach, which requires approximately one-quarter square mile to produce 46 MW, enables utilities of any size to incorporate solar energy at a scale specific to their needs. This unique modularity, along with a proprietary combination of prefabricated parts, optics and software, allows eSolar to address the hurdles commonly encountered in bringing solar power online: price, scalability, speed of deployment and grid impact.

“eSolar’s modular technology can be installed at any scale and in variable configurations. Combined with NRG’s resources and development expertise, eSolar’s technology is the preferred solution for environmentally responsible mid-sized utilities like El Paso Electric,” said Bill Gross, eSolar’s chief executive officer. “eSolar is proud to work with NRG and El Paso Electric to bring the benefits of clean, renewable energy to southern New Mexico.”

[R-BgO]

PG&E enters 92MW solar thermal deal with NRG Energy in California
26 June 2009 | By Síle Mc Mahon | News > Power Generation

Adding to its ever-growing list of solar projects in California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has signed off on a 92MW solar thermal deal with Alpine SunTower, LLC, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. The project builds on eSolar and NRG’s existing collaborative agreement that saw the companies agree to bring around 500MW of solar thermal energy to the U.S.

Scheduled for completion in 2012, the new installation will be situated close to Lancaster, California and will utilise eSolar’s solar thermal technology, which features a proprietary combination of optics and software. The plant will consist of two 46-MW sites, each of which will be located on a quarter square mile of land.

"With the only operating solar power tower technology in the U.S., this new agreement with world-class utility PG&E points to the success of NRG and eSolar to develop solar thermal generation," said Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar. "eSolar's power towers can be designed in variable configurations and are easily scalable to meet the growing and evolving needs of forward-looking power providers like PG&E."

[lieberlong]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 37.476.155 von R-BgO am 26.06.09 17:39:15

Hast Du schonmal was über chin. CSP-Player (Projektierer/Produzenten) gehört?

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 37.476.201 von lieberlong am 26.06.09 17:44:45

zumindest nicht so, daß ich mich jetzt ad-hoc erinnern würde; hast du einen besonderen Grund für die Frage?

[R-BgO]

World's First Hybrid Solarized Gas Turbine Power Station

Each of the station's 30 heliostats tracks the sun and reflects its rays towards the top of a 30 meter-high tower housing a special solar receiver along with a 100kW gas turbine. The patented receiver uses the sun's energy to heat air to a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius and directs this energy into the turbine. The turbine converts the thermal energy into electric power that will be fed directly into the national grid.


by Staff Writers
Yavne, Israel (SPX) Jun 26, 2009
AORA has launched the world's first hybrid solar thermal gas turbine power station at Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel. This marks the first time that a CSP solar power station has the capability of providing environmentally-friendly, or "green" power 24 hours a day, seven days a week - at a local level.

"The size and relative price of our solar power system means it can be implemented in local as well as large-area instillations," said Haim Fried, AORA's CEO.

"This marks the beginning of a new era for solar energy, where any city, town or village can now consider AORA for its energy needs, due to the attainable price point and build-out time of just several months, versus other CSP timelines of several years."

AORA's Samar "Power Flower" station - so named due to the unique yellow tulip design concept created by architect Haim Dotan for the plant's solar tower - consists of a field of 30 tracking mirrors (heliostats) situated on half an acre of land. The power module is expected to supply 100 kW of power to the national grid, enough to sustain approximately 70 households.

Each of the station's 30 heliostats tracks the sun and reflects its rays towards the top of a 30 meter-high tower housing a special solar receiver along with a 100kW gas turbine. The patented receiver uses the sun's energy to heat air to a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius and directs this energy into the turbine. The turbine converts the thermal energy into electric power that will be fed directly into the national grid.

AORA's hybrid approach allows the system to run on solar radiation input, as well as almost any alternative fuel, including biogas, biodiesel and natural gas.

This flexibility enables the module to run in a variety of operation modes - from solar-only mode, where electricity is supplied when there is ample sunlight, to hybrid mode, where fuel helps generate electricity when sunlight is insufficient, such as at night or when it is cloudy. This capability offers uninterrupted, green power 24 hours-a-day.

Among the dignitaries in attendance at the AORA launch was a delegation of businesspeople from Spain, representatives from the Spanish and Israeli government and executives from power companies in Australia, Mexico and Germany who have already expressed interest in purchasing AORA's system.

At the launch, Chile-based CAM, an integrated energy solutions company, signed an agreement with AORA giving CAM the exclusive rights to market, distribute and construct AORA's technology in Chile while Greenearth Energy Ltd, a green energy company based in Melbourne, signed an agreement with AORA to exclusively market and distribute the company's technology across Australia.

Additionally, AORA and the Spanish company AORA SL signed an MOU awarding AORA SL the right to sell the technology in Spain and Portugal.

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Consortium seeks US$425 million for CSP plant in Jordan

05 June 2009
Jordan's BADR Investments is leading a consortium to raise up to US$425 million for a new 100 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant - one of the largest in the world - in Ma'an, southern Jordan.

The newly-formed consortium, YATAGAN, is a collaboration between BADR Investments, Chescor Capital, maisam architects & engineers and Parsons Brinckerhoff, as well as a number of regional and international companies.

The team, which has experience of project management, and capital and debt raising for large-scale infrastructure projects, including power generation and transmission in Jordan and elsewhere in the region, will soon be announcing a suite of investments and other major development projects in the Rift Valley.

Dr Amin Badr El Din, Chairman of BADR Investments and YATAGAN, said: "The Yatagan consortium is focusing on the critical interdependence of sustainable water, energy and food production and we will continue to widen and strengthen our dialogue with technology providers in these fields."

The CSP solar power plant in Ma'an would underpin Jordan's strategy of sustainable energy diversification, and was evidence of YATAGAN's long-term commitment to helping the Government secure additional and valuable new sources of energy, Dr Amin added.

Coinciding with a dialogue at the recent World Economic Forum on Sustainability in the Middle East, Eng. Mohamed N. Bataineh signed on behalf of BADR Investments a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ma'an Development Company (MDC) CEO, Mohammed Turk, for a 30-year renewable lease covering 200 hectares of land.

The Ma'an Development Area enjoys about 320 days of sunshine a year, with a high level of irradiance that allows over 2500 million kWh of primary energy to be harvested annually from each square kilometre.

At full capacity, the planned flagship CSP plant could meet some 4% of the Kingdom's electricity needs, reducing the reliance on electricity imports from neighbouring countries. Surplus energy could in turn be sold to Syria, Egypt and Palestine, whose networks are connected to Jordan.

The consortium also plans to support R&D activities with Ma'an Development Company in cooperation with Al-Hussein Bin Talal University and the Skill Development Centre near the site of the solar plant.

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12 June 2009
Current drastically increasing fuel prices and power shortages for summer daytime peaking power in southern Europe suggest that Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems will find their prime market segment in summer season on peaks. Here, power generation cost differences, compared to typically used gas turbine operation, are smallest. Any renewable energy supply strategy aiming to take over the major part of electricity supply in the decades to come has to consider CSP as this technology option is capable of contributing with reliable, dispatchable power, specifically for daytime-demand peaks. Moreover, southern Europe is not capable of generating all of its required reliable peaking power alone through its own renewable resources. Consequently, energy cooperation with its neighboring countries is mandatory and has already become day-by-day practice. There are gas and power interconnections between Italy, Tunisia and Algeria, as well as between Morocco and Spain. As these southern neighbors also have a much greater solar resource, it is logical to intensify this co-operation for CSP.
In addition to that Integrated Solar Combined Cycle power Plants (ISCCP) with their capability of thermal energy storage and of solar/fossil hybrid operation can provide firm capacity and thus are a key element for grid stabilization and power security in such a well-balanced electricity mix. This has led to a rather rapid development of ISCCP to achieve good performance at all modes of operations and to increase the shear of solar power generation, and subsequently an increase in the thermal and environmental effectiveness of the plant. From this standpoint the recent study [1] was undertaken to include a proposed design for increasing the specific output at sunny periods, and off design performance at cloudy periods and at night, of the Integrated Gas turbine Solar Power Plant (IGSPP). The desired effect of integrating a Gas Turbine Unit (GTU) with a Solar parabolic trough Power Plant (SPP) is not just to add the power produced by the GTU to that produced by the SPP but indeed to augment the latter. The proposed design of IGSPP offers a number of potential advantages over conventional SPP and represents an innovative way to reduce cost and improve the overall solar-to-electric efficiency. Also, the IGSPP will allow for a flexible transition from the present Combined Cycle Power Plants based on fossil fuels to a future plants based to a large extend on solar energy . Being one of the most effective technologies in terms of technical, economic and environmental sustainability [1,2]. For the case study (IGSPP with annual share of solar thermal power generation 42.2 %) the economical effect amount 187.9 ton fuel / year for each MW design thermal energy of parabolic solar collector array [1]. The corresponding decrease in exhaust gases emission (nitrogen oxides (NOx) 294 kg/MW.year, carbon dioxides (CO2) 679.9 ton/MW.year). Moreover, the GTU output power during solar operation periods becomes a lower fraction of the IGSPP output (0.37 : 0.5) with parallel increase in the power output of steam turbine unit. Beside that, the increase in the output of PSCA and, subsequently, in solar power generation, will also useful to offset the normal reduction in performance experienced by GTU during the summer season.
It is also important to note that, according to the World Bank, the expected evolution of total electricity costs is that they will drop to 8 to 7 € cents/kW.h in the medium term (100 MWe Rankine-cycle plant or 100 Mwe ISCCP, both with storage) and to 5 € cents/kW.h in the long term (200 MWe Rankine-cycle plant with storage) for high insolation sites with an annual direct normal solar radiation of more than 2800 kW.h/m2.
It is worthwhile to mention that the Solar tower (or solar chimney) is one of the alternative technologies proposed as a device to economically generate electricity from solar energy in large-scale. However, an economic drawback of such power plants is the low overall conversion efficiency from solar energy to electricity, which negatively effect on the levelized solar electricity cost. From this standpoint the author proposes a new approach to prospective SCPP. This approach includes the combining of the following grid connected technologies: Hybrid Geothermal / Solar Chimney Power Plant and Hybrid Geothermal / PV / Solar Chimney Power Plant The novel proposed schemes offer a number of potential advantages and represents an innovative way to reduce cost, optimizing the consumption of fossil fuel, and minimizing the environmental impact [3].

[1] Hussain Alrobaei,2006, Integrated Gas Turbine Solar Power Plant/ The Energy Central Network/ energycentral.com/centers/knowledge/whitepapers.
[2] Hussain Alrobaei , 2007, Novel Integrated Gas Turbine Solar Cogeneration Power Plant/DEC, Halkidiki, Greece ,22–25 April 2007.
[3] Hussain Alrobaei, 2007, Hybrid Geothermal/Solar Energy Technology For Power Generation/ environmental-expert.com/resultarticlept.asp.

[R-BgO]

Tessera Solar expands into Texas with CSP

03 July 2009
NTR’s solar project development company, Tessera Solar North America, has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with CPS Energy to develop a 27MW solar project in West Texas, USA.

The project will use the SunCatcher power system manufactured by Tessera Solar’s sister company, Stirling Energy Systems (SES). This is the first PPA to be signed by the company since NTR’s investment of US$100m in Tessera Solar and SES in March 2008.

The PPA with San Antonio’s CPS Energy is the first Texas project for Tessera Solar and will complement Tessera Solar’s 1,500 MW of California projects in Imperial Valley and the Mojave Desert.

The Western Ranch Solar project is expected to break ground in Summer 2010, assuming timely completion of regulatory approvals, with the first units expected to come online by the end of 2010. The 27 MW solar project, comprised of 1,080 SunCatcher dishes, will reportedly create 100 construction jobs and up to 20 permanent jobs.
About The SunCatcher

According to SES, the SunCatcher system uses precision mirrors attached to a parabolic dish to concentrate the sun’s energy onto a high-efficiency Stirling Engine. Each dish can generate up to 25,000 W of power and has reportedly been certified by Sandia National Laboratories as having the highest sun-to-grid energy conversion in the world.

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Tessera Solar planning 500MW solar thermal power development in Riverside County
13 July 2009 | By Rebecca Butcher | News > Power Generation

Tessera Solar has won the opportunity to develop solar thermal power plants in Riverside County, California up to 500MW. Tessera plans to collaborate with Optiflex Properties & Development for the development and the financing of the power plants. Most would be set up on old landfills and undeveloped properties, using about 3,500 acres of land.

The company’s representative Janette Coates did not disclose the costs of the overall project and the developers still have not worked out a lease agreement with the county. Construction is planned to start between 2010-2012, after which Tessera and Optiflex would sell electricity to consumers throughout the state. The companies have not yet announced any power sales agreements.

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GreenWing Energy signs agreement with SolFocus for utility scale deployments of CPV
24 July 2009 | By Emma Hughes | News > PV Modules

GreenWing Energy Management Ltd., and SolFocus, Inc have announced a landmark agreement for SolFocus to supply high concentration photovoltaic (CPV) systems for GreenWing's large-scale solar power projects in the western United States.

This agreement allows for the expansion of GreenWing's business into the solar energy sector; the company intends to install the SolFocus CPV systems in both new utility-scale projects of 20-300MW and larger distributed generation applications of up to 1-20MW.

The SolFocus 1100S system uses approximately 1/1,000th of the active, expensive solar cell material compared to traditional PV panels. These cells, for use in CPV systems, have a reported double efficiency level compared to traditional silicon PV cells. In solar-rich regions, the SolFocus CPV technology allows for efficiency rates that help solar power costs approach equivalence with fossil fuel generation.

GreenWing's Vice President of Business Development Matt Penry said, "GreenWing and SolFocus are ideally positioned to participate in this exciting and rapidly growing market segment and provide customers with a cost competitive and environmentally responsible solution."

The SolFocus CPV design is being peddled as far better for the environment in comparison to other solar power generation technologies as it has very low water usage, emissions free electricity, no noise from sites, no permanent shadowing or wildlife corridor interruptions, and no disruptive solar glare.

SolFocus President and CEO Mark Crowley said, "(GreenWing's) capabilities are extremely valuable to SolFocus as we accelerate our volume equipment production program in the upcoming months."

[lieberlong]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 37.476.433 von R-BgO am 26.06.09 18:10:53

hast du einen besonderen Grund für die Frage?

Naja, habe eben auch noch nichts von China und CSP gehört. Auf den Zug dürften sie in Zukunft wohl auch noch aufspringen, gerade weil es auch im Inland beste Flächen dafür gäbe...

[R-BgO]

Clark Energy, Acciona chosen by U.S. Army to develop huge mixed PV, CST solar plant at Fort Irwin
31 July 2009 | By Tom Cheyney | News > Power Generation


Clark Energy Group has been chosen to develop a major solar power project at Fort Irwin, CA--the largest of its kind in U.S. Department of Defense history. Acciona Solar Power will join Clark Energy to help construct and manage the Fort Irwin Solar Energy EUL (enhanced use leasing) project.

The selection of Clark-Acciona was made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, EUL program working in partnership with Fort Irwin and the Department of the Army.

The Fort Irwin Solar Energy EUL will involve a flexible, phased, multitechnology approach to delivering up to 1000MW of power generation, while advancing the transformation of Fort Irwin's overall energy security, the companies said. The Clark-Acciona proposal features the industrial-scale development of both solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies.

The proposed development will ultimately include more than 500MW of solar power that will generate 1250GWhr of renewable energy annually at the site. The Clark-Acciona plan calls for a phased implementation that considers site characteristics, constraints, available resources, current and future technologies, cost, access to transmission lines, and length of approval and connection processes at each construction stage.

The Fort Irwin Solar Energy EUL pilot project is an initiative of the Secretary of the Army's Senior Energy Council. The council coordinates and promotes energy security and policy for the Army by using measures to conserve and use energy wisely, while also encouraging the production of alternative energy sources from the Army's substantial land holdings across the country.

The EUL program, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, leverages private capital and expertise to fund installation maintenance and operation costs in exchange for long-term leases of Army land through its statutory authority.

Fort Irwin is in the High Mojave Desert, midway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The installation hosts the National Training Center, which is the Army's premier heavy maneuver Combat Training Center and NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, whose main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions.

[R-BgO]

Schweizer Energieversorger investiert in solarthermisches Kraftwerk der Novatec Biosol AG
Der Schweizer Energieversorger EBL (Elektra Basel Land) sichert sich eine Beteiligung von 85% an Bau und Betrieb an dem von der NOVATEC BIOSOL AG entwickelten Solarkraftwerk PE2. Auch die industriellen Werke Basel (IWB) wollen in das Projekt einsteigen.

Solarkraftwerk

(pressebox) Karlsruhe, 07.08.2009, Das Solarkraftwerk PE2 in Südspanien wird ein Solarfeld von 280.000 m2 umfassen und hat eine elektrische Leistung von 30 Megawatt. Die jährlich produzierte Strommenge ist ausreichend zur Versorgung von bis zu 11.000 Haushalten.

Der erste Spatenstich für Puerto Errado II ist für Oktober 2009 geplant, vorbehältlich des Entscheids über die neue Einspeisevergütung für Solarstrom in Spanien.

Das Solarkraftwerk PE 2 basiert auf der von NOVATEC neu entwickelten Solarkollektortechnik NOVA-1, die sich bereits in dem Demonstrationskraftwerk PE-1 bewährt hat. Der wesentlich verringerte Materialbedarf des Solarfelds, vollautomatisierte Serienfertigung der Primärreflektoren und das auf wenige Hauptkomponenten reduzierte Kraftwerksdesign waren ausschlaggebende Argumente für den Einstieg des Schweizer Energieversorgers.

Der Verzicht auf eine fossil basierte Stützfeuerung und der Einsatz von Luftkühlern anstatt von Wasserkühlern mit einem enorm hohen Wasserverbrauch bei PE2 bieten zusätzliche ökologische Vorteile, die sich für den Kraftwerkseigentümer auch durch langfristig niedrige Betriebskosten bezahlt machen.

Die NOVATEC BIOSOL AG sieht sich durch den Einstieg der EBL als Energieversorger mit Technologie- und Branchenkenntnis in ihrem Kurs bestätigt und plant kurzfristig die Vermarktung weiterer Solarkraftwerke und einen entsprechenden Ausbau der Produktionskapazität von Solarfeldelementen in Südspanien.

[R-BgO]

CPUC approves PPAs between PG&E, BrightSource for electricity from solar thermal plants
21 August 2009 | By Tom Cheyney | News > Power Generation

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved two 25-year power purchase agreements between Pacific Gas and Electric and BrightSource Energy for electricity generated at a pair of concentrating solar-thermal power stations scheduled to be built in the deserts of Southern California.

The initial project, a 110MW power plant in Ivanpah Solar Power Complex, will be located on six square miles of land about 50 miles northwest of Needles in the Mojave Desert and is slated to begin operations by July 2012. A second, 200MW installation is scheduled to start operating a year later at the site.

BrightSource Energy's Luz Power Tower (LPT) energy system uses thousands of mirrors or heliostats that track the sun and reflect the light to a boiler raised on a tower, creating superheated steam, which is piped to a traditional steam turbine-generator set.

The CST company has a 6MW LPT system already operating at its Solar Energy Development Center in the Negev Desert in Israel.

[R-BgO]

CPUC Approves 800 GWh PG&E Contracts With BrightSource
in News Departments > Projects & Contracts
by SI Staff on Monday 24 August 2009


The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved two solar energy contracts for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). Both plants are being developed by BrightSource Energy Inc.

The first project, Ivanpah 1, features a 25-year contract length and is expected to be in service in July 2012. Planned for Ivanpah, Calif., the solar thermal plant will have a 110 MW generating capacity and produce 284 GWh per year.

Ivanpah 3, which will also be located in Ivanpah, Calif., will have a capacity of 200 MW and generate 516 GWh per year. PG&E has signed a 25-year contract for the energy generated by this project, which has an expected operation date of July 2013.

Through its agreements with BrightSource, PG&E will receive deliveries up to 800 GWh of energy per year from two new solar thermal facilities, with deliveries beginning in 2012. PG&E also negotiated a royalty agreement with BrightSource for payments based on sales and licensing fees of its technology.

SOURCE: California Public Utilities Commission

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January 10, 2010

Beijing, China: eSolar Signs 2GW Master License Agreement

eSolar, a provider of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, and Penglai Electric, a privately-owned Chinese electrical power equipment manufacturer, today announced a master licensing agreement to build at least 2 gigawatts of solar thermal power plants in China over the next 10 years.

The deal was signed in the Chinese State Council building with government officials in attendance and represents the country’s largest CSP project. Groundbreaking of the first 92 megawatts (MW) will take place in 2010. Penglai Electric plans to develop 2 GW of power plants by 2021 using eSolar’s proven solar thermal technology. The solar thermal power plants will be co-located with biomass electricity generation facilities. Penglai Electric will leverage local manufacturing to source some of the equipment. In total, the plants will eliminate 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

“Using the power of the sun, eSolar’s technology minimizes the environmental impact on manufacturing and deployment while maximizing land and cost efficiency,” said Liu Guangyu, chairman and CEO of Penglai Electric. “We are extremely grateful to the Chinese government for playing a major role in promoting zero-carbon renewable energy.”

“With Penglai as our partner and with the strong support of the Chinese government, eSolar is proud to be the first company to deliver the benefits of cost-effective solar thermal power to China,” said Bill Gross, founder and chairman of eSolar. China Huadian Engineering Co. will lead the construction process. At completion, China Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Co. will own and operate the first 92 MW plant.

“To date, eSolar offers the only CSP tower technology that has demonstrated commercial maturity and economic feasibility,” added Zhao Weikang, chairman and president of Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Co. “We’re excited to build our initial hybrid plant as part of the 170-square kilometer Yulin Alternative Energy Park, the first large scale alternative energy park in China. Our work is aligned with the government’s continuing policy to curb carbon emissions and combat climate change.”

China is currently the market leader in the PV manufacturing industry. The deal represents the country’s first major move into concentrating solar thermal power. The Chinese government recently announced its aggressive plans to increase the country’s renewable power generation capacity to 15 percent by 2020.

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Project Focus: South Africa’s Eskom to build 100MW CSP power plant with World Bank funds
09 April 2010 | By Mark Osborne | News > Power Generation


Update: As part of a US$3.75 billion loan from the World Bank to help South Africa achieve a reliable electricity supply, the country’s electricity provider, Eskom is to build a 100MW concentrated solar (CSP) power project with storage in Upington, South Africa.

“Without an increased energy supply, South Africans will face hardship for the poor and limited economic growth,” said Obiageli K. Ezekwesili, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region. “Access to energy is essential for fighting poverty and catalyzing growth, both in South Africa and the wider sub-region. Our support to Eskom combines much-needed investments to boost generation capacity for growing small and large businesses, creating jobs, and helping lay the foundations for a clean energy future through investments in solar and wind power.”

“As part of the project, Eskom will pilot 100 megawatts of solar power with storage and wind power, the biggest grid-connected renewable energy venture in any developing country,” said Vijay Iyer, World Bank Energy Sector Manager for Africa. “We are optimistic that the lessons learned from these projects will facilitate the scale-up of the renewable energy industry across Africa.”

A US$3.05 billion is going towards the completion of a 4,800MW coal-fired power station, while US$260 million is going into a 100MW wind power project. World Bank did not disclose the costs involved in the 100MW CPV project.

However, in preliminary documents the costs combined for both wind and solar projects were estimated to be about US$1.228 billion, of which IBRD would provide financing of about US$260 million. CTF would provide financing of about US$ 250 million (with the proposed IBRD loan). An additional US$100 million would come from CTF – US$50 million each for the wind and solar projects.

[R-BgO]

Xcel Energy's First-Ever Solar-Coal Project Is Running


by Staff Writers
Denver, Colorado (SPX) Jul 07, 2010
Xcel Energy is now operating a first-of-its-kind demonstration of a hybrid solar-coal approach, using parabolic-trough solar technology integrated with a coal-fired power plant. The project, located at Xcel Energy's Cameo Generating Station near Grand Junction, Colo., is designed to increase the plant's efficiency, decrease the use of coal, test the commercial viability of concentrating solar power thermal integration, and lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Abengoa Solar developed the parabolic-trough technology, which concentrates solar energy to provide heat for producing supplemental steam for electric power production.

"We are very excited about getting this unique renewable energy project on line," said Kent Larson, vice president and chief energy supply officer for Xcel Energy. "If this project produces the successful results we expect, this type of solar thermal integration will help move the use of solar energy one step closer to being a potential technology for improving the environmental performance of coal-fired power plants for Xcel Energy and for utilities around the country."

"We are pleased to work with Xcel Energy on this important innovative clean technology project. We believe that the solar approach being implemented at Cameo will provide a cost-effective way of delivering solar energy," said Santiago Seage, Abengoa Solar CEO.

The project is the first under Xcel Energy's new Innovative Clean Technology (ICT) Program, an initiative to test promising new technologies with potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions and result in other environmental improvements.

Through the ICT Program, the company can pursue the development, commercialization and deployment of new power generation, energy storage and other technologies that support its clean energy strategy.

It provides the opportunity to test these technologies and evaluate their cost, reliability and environmental performance at a demonstration scale before determining whether they should be deployed more widely for Colorado customers.

[R-BgO]

3 GW in USA genehmigt:

http://cleantechnica.com/2010/08/31/recovery-act-propels-3-g…

[R-BgO]

Abener and Teyma build 100 MW CSP plant in UAE

03 September 2010
Abener and Teyma will build a 100 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant – Shams 1 – in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The consortium was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 100 MW CSP plant in May 2010 following an international tender floated by Masdar.

The Shams 1 CSP plant will be made up by 768 parabolic trough collectors and 12 modules of mirrors spread over a surface of 300 hectares.

The development society is Shams One Company; composed of Masdar (60%), Total (20%) and Abengoa Solar (20%).

The whole investment amounts to US$600 million within a stipulated period of 24 months.

Abengoa Solar and Total will be in charge of the operation and maintenance for the CSP plant over a 25 year period.

The electricity will be sold to the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Abener and Teyma are subsidiaries of Abeinsa, headquarters of the Engineering and Industrial Construction of the Abengoa business group.

[R-BgO]

Are Solar Thermal Power Plants Doomed?
by: Greentech Media October 18, 2010 | about: ABGOY.PK / AMAT / NRG / SGFRF.PK / SPWRA / TAN / TSRA


by Michael Kanellos, Brett Prior

Concentrating Solar Power [CSP] is one of our favorite renewable energy technologies, but it might be in serious trouble. And this time the culprit is not cheap natural gas, the Koch Brothers, nor the desert tortoise advocates.

This time, the adversary is the other half of the solar family.

Just to clarify, CSP includes all concentrating solar thermal (CST) technologies, such as trough, tower, and dish-engine - as well as concentrating PV (CPV) technologies including companies such as Amonix, SolFocus, and Concentrix.

The CSP industry began to flourish in the late 1980s and early 90s in California, with the construction of 354 megawatts of parabolic trough plants in the Mojave Desert.

Then, the state allowed a real estate tax exemption lapse, a change in the law that companies like Solel and Luz warned would kill them. Right after Luz ran out of money, then Governor Pete Wilson signed an extension.

A second wave began around 2004 with the revival of green technology in the state. Luz founder Arnold Goldman rounded up the old team, recruited some new execs and founded BrightSource Energy. Peter Le Lievre and a group of Australians came up with Ausra and built a plant in Las Vegas.

Advocates said that solar thermal plants, if 500 megawatts or larger, could rival natural gas in cost per kilowatt hour. Another lapse in the property tax exemption loomed, but was avoided.

But then the 2008 financial crisis hit. The sudden decline of funding hit the industry particularly hard, considering that a demo plant costs around $25mm and a commercial plant requires somewhere north of $250mm. Ausra and eSolar had to retool their strategies, while BrightSource had to sell part of its first project at Ivanpah to Bechtel.

If that weren’t enough, environmentalists and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein pushed to declare a million acres of the Mojave a protected zone. Concerns about desert tortoises forced BrightSource to scale Ivanpah down to 370 megawatts. It was as if 19th Century coal miners blamed their lot on the gruel purity standards being imposed on mining camp cafeterias.

But the projects have, in recent weeks, begun to get the necessary approvals from the California Energy Commission and the Bureau of Land Management, just in time to qualify for the Treasury Grant program.

So the near term outlook for CSP looks pretty bright, as BrightSource's Ivanpah, Abengoa's (ABGOY.PK) Solana, and Tessera's (TSRA) Imperial all look likely to break ground this year.

So, what could derail CSP's longer term prospects?

PV, that’s what.

The relentless price declines of PV panels allows developers to build PV plants at a lower cost than their CST cousins. This issue is illustrated in the following Capital Cost per watt chart (an excerpt from the upcoming GTM Research "CSP Report"). In 2010, the price to build a CSP park run by Troughs, Power Towers or Dish-Engines will cost between $5.00 and $6.55 per watt (AC). On the other hand, utility-scale PV projects can limbo below $3.50 a watt (DC).

By 2020, the CSP solutions are expected to be in the $2.40-$3.80 per watt (AC) range, but by that time PV plants could be below $2 a watt (DC). Trough & Tower plants are behind PV, and not likely to catch up.

The better comparison is levelized cost of energy (LCOE) - as this corrects for the DC-to-AC conversion that PV needs to deal with, the differences in O&M, and the differing amounts of kWh generated per watt of equipment installed (as yields vary by technology).

This second chart depicts the LCOE on an apples-to-apples basis (same location, same plant size, same financing terms). Again, PV is cheaper today, and expected to widen its edge over the next decade. By 2020, the CSP technologies are expected to be in the $0.10-$0.12/kWh range, whereas PV is forecast between $0.07-$0.08/kWh.

A bleak outlook?

As a sign of the times, NRG Energy (NRG) decided that instead of building CSP plants using eSolar Towers, it would use the sites for PV plants. The company did this both in California (Alpine SunTower), and in New Mexico.

This sort of reversal wasn’t expected in 2006 or 2007, but since then the Chinese have ramped up their solar PV manufacturing, the cost of polysilicon has slid dramatically, and the overall cost of PV modules has declined significantly. Both Solon (SGFRF.PK) and SunPower (SPWRA) now make solar power plants “in a box” that can generate 1 megawatt. They come straight from the factory on big rigs.

If you accept the following 2 premises, the future for CSP looks pretty bleak.

1) PV is now cheaper than CSP on a levelized cost basis, and will reduce its costs faster than CSP going forward

2) When awarding solar power purchase agreements ((PPAs)), utilities will choose the lowest price option

What could prevent this scenario from coming to pass?

One possibilty is that utilities are willing to pay a premium for CSP plants for one of two reasons:

i) CST plants produce more consistent power output (less spikiness). These plants can produce power fairly consistently throughout the day because of the inertia of the turbine and the ability to burn natural gas when clouds roll in. When clouds blanket a PV plant - the output can drop off a cliff. The last time the solar thermal plants in the Mojave experienced an eyebrow-raising drop in power it was because Mt. Pinatubo blew.

ii) CST power plants fit naturally with storage systems and can even continue to produce power at night. For now, if utilities want solar with storage, the only economic option is CST (trough or tower). Perhaps at some point in the future new technologies like sodium batteries and dry cell batteries from Xtreme Power may help PV developers even the storage gap.

Are utilities willing to take quality or storage into account? Apparently not at the moment.

“Utilities aren’t willing to pay for consistency and storage,” said Brad Friesen, Vice President of the Renewables business line at Fluor, one of the largest EPC (engineering, procurement, & construction) firms in the world. Most of the utilities are concerned about meeting their renewable portfolio requirements, he said. Five years from now utilities might question their thinking, he added, but right now, these considerations are not given much weight.

And price is not the only area where CST plants are disadvantaged.

Lack of Modularity

Trough and tower plants require large turbines to operate - and the economics for steam turbines only work with 50 MW+ plants. So modularity is not an option for CST plants.

Developers have figured out that it is much easier (and faster) to site, permit and get transmission arranged for a sub-20 MW plant than it is for a larger project. That effectively rules out trough and tower - but allows for traditional flat-plate PV, CPV, and potentially Dish-Engine options.

Restricted geography

The economics of CST require that they be located in a more constrained geographic band.

Conclusion?

Solar thermal still has a lot of appeal. Some of the newer technologies (towers & dish-engines) are just coming out and may surprise us in their ability to lower costs. Other technologies like SolarReserve’s cycling salt could further wring out inefficiencies. (Friesen is a fan of SolarReserve). When quality and storage are required, solar thermal comes out cheaper than nuclear. The capital for nuclear plants cost $6,000 a kilowatt, or $6 a watt, or more, not including waste storage, and often rise higher than expected. Thermal plants may not run all night, but they provide consistent power in the day when needed. The question is whether the CST industry can survive until its competitive advantages are truly valued by the utilities.

"There is a role for solar thermal. If it is North Africa, that is fantastic," said Travis Bradford, founder of the Prometheus Institute and a professor at the University of Chicago. "But the difference (in the amount of total energy that will be produced by utility solar parks) between solar thermal and PV will be at least an order of magnitude. Maybe two." That is to say that if PV will see annual installations of 20,000 MW per year in the middle of this decade, perhaps CST will be more in the realm of 200-2,000 MW per year. Not a particularly rosy outlook.

It's like that old, painful axiom in semiconductors.

Don’t bet against silicon.