clean energy wonk
Post on 07-Apr-2018
218 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
1/14
Clean Energy Wonk
They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating Solar Power
December 7, 2006 at 4:48 pm Filed under Concentrating Solar Power, csp, PV, Renewable Energy, solar
thermal
Note 5/3/09 Some more recent CSP articles are here.
Ive just spent some time reviewing a pile of reports on concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies for
Ratepayers United Colorado (RUC), so here is a summary of the various types.
Technology descriptions
Concentrating Photovoltaic
o This technology uses mirrors or lenses to focus sunlight on high-efficiency photovoltaic chips.
The extra sunlight makes it worth the expense of making a more efficient higher complexity
chip because each chip can convert more sunlight to electricity, with conversion efficiencies oftentwice as high as the efficiencies of conventional soar panels. This also has the advantage of
saving silicon (which is in short supply) for making chips. Problems are that they do not work as
well as conventional panels in diffuse light through clouds (because the light cannot be focused)
so they are only appropriate for areas with very little cloud cover, and the extra light heats the
chips more, which lowers their efficiency, and so may require some sort of additional cooling
loop.
o Article links:
o http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/03/concentrix_conc.html
o http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2005/11/stellaris_conce.html
Parabolic trough
o The oldest CSP technology, parabolic trough plants, known as SEGS 1 through 9, have been
operating reliably in the
California and Nevada deserts since the 1970. Parabolic
trough plants work by focusing sunlight on pipes by means of
parabolic mirrors. These pipes contain a working fluid
(several have been used, from water and superheated steam
to molten nitrate salts.)
o Parabolic trough technology is currently experiencing a
revival, with several new plants being built. The using ofOrganinc Rankine Cycle generators allows solar trough plants
as small as 1 MW to be built (such as the new Saguaro plant
north of
Tucson, AZ.
o Parabolic trough technology allows energy to be stored as heat, which is much less expensive
than storing electricity. This allows the energy from these plants to be available at times of peak
demand, making the electricity much more valuable.
o Steve Raabe recently wrote an article for the Denver Post providing a good overview of the
prospects of this technology in
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 1/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
2/14
Colorado. The only point that he missed is the potential for hybridization with existing coal and
gas plants. By preheating steam for an existing fossil fuel fired turbine, CSP can make an old
power plant operate much more efficiently. Arnold Leitner of SkyFuel (www.skyfuel.com) tells
me Our preliminary engineering estimates, satellite imagery of the locations and solar data show
that SkyFuel could supply 50-100 MW-electric solar steam to the Comanche power plants
generating an estimated 65,700-131,400 MWh of pure solar power at the facility via the existing
steam turbine. SkyFuel could deliver this solar-generated steam to the power plant at an effective
fuel cost commensurate to the fuel cost of burning natural gas at a modern combined cycle powerplant at fuel price of 7-8 cents/mmBtu. In other words, through a FuelSaverTMat a coal-fired
power plant SkyFuel could provide solar energy at the price of natural gas generation.
o Considering that solar power is available during peak demand, gas ifered generation is the
appropriate cost comparison (as opposed to wind power, which does not deserve (or need) a
price premium due to its unpredictable timing.
o A variant on this called Concentrating Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) uses many thin mirror strips instead
of parabolic
troughs to concentrate sunlight from a large field onto justtwo tubes of working fluid. This has the advantage
that flat mirrors are much cheaper to produce that
parabolic mirrors, and also allows for a greater
density of reflectors in the array, allowing more of the
sunlight to be used.
Power Tower
o Power Tower technology is similar to solar trough technology in
that it uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a working fluid which isthen used to superheat steam to run a turbine. The difference is that
the mirrors concentrate all the sunlight onto a single receiver at the top
of a tower. This allows for higher temperatures, but leads to
engineering problems because of the high temperature at the receiver.
o Lower price per watt is theoretically possible
compared to trough technology because of the higher
temperatures.
o So far, only two pilot plants have been built and
operated, called Solar One and Solar Two (actuallythe same facility as Solar One, but converted to use nitrate salts as the working fluid rather than
superheated steam). Both Solar One and Two incorporated thermal energy storage. Due to
the success in demonstrating the technology of Solar Two, a commercial 15MW plant Solar Tres
is in the planning stations. This station will incorporate enough thermal storage in molten salt
tanks for 24h operation.
Solar Chimney
o A Solar chimney consists of a large greenhouse (multiple square miles of area covered by a
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 2/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
3/14
transparent roof) which is sloped gently
up to a central hollow tower or
chimney. The sun heats the air in the
greenhouse which then rises up the
chimney driving an air turbine (similar to
the hydroelectric turbines used to
generate power at dams) in the chimney
as it rises. Water filled tubes on thefloor of the greenhouse serve as heat
storage which allows the chimney to
operate even at night and on cloudy
days. The amount of water in the tubes can be changed to alter the profile of power production
and match it closely to the power demand the chimney serves.
o The edges of the greenhouse can actually be used for agribusiness to grow plants, so not all the
space taken up is solely devoted to electric production.
o The beauty of solar chimneys is that they are extremely low tech, and can be built without heavy
equipment using simple materials. The only exception to this is the turbine, and even that is much
less complex than turbines used to generate power from wind, because the wind in a solarchimney is much more regular than naturally occurring winds and storms that wind turbines have
to deal with.
o The first solar chimney was built in
Manzanares, Spain and ran continuously for 32 months in the late 1980s with 95% availability
(considerably better than most coal and nuclear plants.) See a video tour of this chimney I ran
across on EcoGeek.
o A 200MW chimney is planned by EnviroMissionof Melbourne Austrailia for the Austrailian
Outback.
o
It may be possible to build solar chimneys on south-facing slopes or simply as an extra layer ofglazing on tall buildings with a turbine at the top which would make them even cheaper by
avoiding the necessity of building the tall chimney (my idea).
Dish Stirling
o A Dish Stirling system is a parabolic mirror which focuses heat directly on a Stirling engine, a
simple closed-cycle engine which operates
simply using any heat source. Sometimes
hybridized with a fossil fuel source to provide
heat when the sun is not shining.
o DishSterling systems have the advantage of small
size and scalability, because each individual
mirror-engine system produces only around
25kW, but many can by linked together.
o Because the suns rays are focused directly on
the engine, there is little opportunity for
thermal storage, a great advantage of several
other thermal concentrating technologies.
o Stirling Energy Systems currently has a few demonstration systems in operation. They have
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 3/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
4/14
Like Be the f irst to like this post.
signed purchase agreements with two
California utilities to build a total of around 1 GW of electric generation, but both projects are stil
in early testing phases.
o According to Sandia National labs, this is the most efficient technology for converting sunlight
into electricity.
CSP Technology comparisons
Technology Scale Levelized cost
per MWh
Pros/Cons Complexity/
deploymentConcentrating PV Any $15-$20 No storage option;
does not work well
on cloudy days
High. Beginning to
be deployed in last
couple years.
Dish
Sterling
25 kW per dish Unknown High efficiency,
modular. No
thermal storage.
Just beginning to be
deploy
Parabolic Trough Most: >50 MW for
economies of scale;
Organic Rankine
Cycle 1MW+
$8-$18 current
$6 potential
Can hybridize with
existing fossil
plants.
Storage, well
understood
technology, needs
water for efficient
cooling.
Plants operating
consistently for 30
years in CA.
Solar Tower >30 MW $18+ current,
$5 potential,
can hybridize with
existing fossil
plants.
Storage.
Potentially cheaper
than solar trough.
Needs water for
efficient cooling.
2 pilot plants with
operational
history. First
commercial plant
now operational.
Solar Chimney 100-200MW Not yet known. Baseload power,
low maintenance.
Low complexity,
great potential for
3rd world.
Permalink
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 4/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
5/14
23 Comments
1.
Leslie Glustrom said
December 8, 2006 @ 6:56 pm
Great summary TomThanks!
I especially like the idea of doing a solar greenhouse with turbine in combination with tall buildings.
Whether that particular idea works or not, it is part of what Ive long said about unleashing our ingenuity.
It is going to be such fun once we get going on all of this for real!
Thanks again. It is great to have you working on clean energy for the citizens of Coloradoand the world!
Leslie
P.S. Check out the trec-uk website.:) and then you might want to get hooked up with Gerry who runs
that site. He and I exchanged e-mails earlier this week. Good things are happening!
Reply
2.
anthea said
March 7, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
what do people use at night?
Reply
3.
Tom said
March 7, 2007 @ 9:27 pm
The great thing about CSP is that it is a lot easier t store heat than electricity. The heat can variously be
stored in large insulated tanks of water, molten salt, or oil. The heat stored that way can be used to
generate electricity at night or on cloudy days.
Reply
4.
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 5/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
6/14
peter kyte said
March 29, 2007 @ 6:52 am
Ive become interested in concentrated solar power do you feel it will be private sector or government
led and are there any avenues to invest in the stock market for CSP???
Reply
5.
Tom said
March 29, 2007 @ 8:20 pm
Government will have to get the policies right to get these projects started, but the investments will be
made by privately owned companies. Unfortunately, there are not American listed stocks that are deeply
involved in this field, but there are a few publicly traded compaines in world markets.
Acciona: a Spanish firm which was part of the consortium that build Nevada Solar One
Iberdrola: A spanish utility that has a CSP arm, and is moving into the US.
Enviromission: An Australian company that is construction solar chimneys.
In the US markets, you can buy FPL (Florida Power and Light): A US utility that owns the majority of the
SEGS built in California nad Nevada in the 70s and 80s. It may be reasonable to presume that they have
some interest in building more because they have experience running the existing CSP plants.
Note: This is just a listing of the public companies I know of that are involved in CSP. The decision to or
not to invest in any or all of these is your own. I cannot make a reccomendation without knowing yourpersonal financial situation.
Reply
6.
Bonnici said
June 5, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
I saw a solar power car in Colorado where can I find more information on them?
TK: I just read an article about solar powering your Prius on EcoGeek.
Reply
7.
Fred Kirsch said
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 6/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
7/14
June 18, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
Im researching alternatives to RECs for Fort Collins green energy plan. Any investment opportunities
in CSP for city dollars?
Reply
8.
Tom said
June 18, 2007 @ 2:50 pm
Fred- as far as I know, there are no current plans on the drawing board for a CSP plant but that might
change very soon. The only recent plants built in the US are a small one in Arizona, and Nevada Solar
One, both of which were built to help meet those states RPS requirements, so I doubt there are SRECs
available from them.
Ill to pass your contact information on to other people who who may know anyone trying to get a CSPproject started in Colorado.
Reply
9. Alt Energy Stocks Blog Archive A Solar Technology for Every Application
said
September 30, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
[...] Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) developer Ausra has been keeping long-underappreciatedConcentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology in the news recently. I consider this great news, because
the potential for [...]
Reply
10. Alt Energy Stocks Blog Archive The Arizona Renewable Energy Assessment:
An Investors Perspective said
October 28, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
[...] The only exception to this broad trend is the selection of "Parabolic Dish Engine" (which I usually refer
to as Dish-Stirling) and the emphasis of large scale Photovoltaic over small scale residential solar
photovoltaic (most [...]
Reply
11.
C J vd Merwe said
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 7/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
8/14
November 18, 2007 @ 2:41 am
I am farmer of South Africa developing an irrigation farm and enjoys 345 days without any clouds per
year. Can CSP be an option?
Reply
12.
Tom said
November 18, 2007 @ 10:24 am
CJ: South africa has a good solar resource for CSP, especially in the NE of the country.
Click here for a map.
So there is potential. Most projects tend to be very large, however, to acheive economies of scale.
Reply
13. Clean Energy Intro: Solar Thermal : CleanTechnica said
March 10, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
[...] exciting news has been emerging about solar-thermal. Its been demonstrated as reliable for over
twenty years, and new plants are coming online, or being planned, across the world. Energy is not the only
[...]
Reply
14.
George said
April 30, 2008 @ 6:01 pm
Anybody know of any CSP technology for individuals i.e for the cottage, campers etc?
Reply
15.
Solar Dave said
May 5, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
I went by the largest PV planet in the US in Alamosa Colorado (I took some video and put it on my site)
and I scratched my head an thought why they didnt use concentrated solar instead.
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 8/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
9/14
Reply
16.
Tom said
May 8, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
Solar Dave:I believe they chose not to use CSP for 2 reasons: the site is only 8MW, and CSP works best at over 15
MW for solar towers, and 200 MW for parabolic trough. The other reason was that the site has limited
water, which means that the turbine would need air colling, which lowers the efficiency.
Reply
17.
Caferacer said
September 7, 2008 @ 1:33 pm
There is a small private company in Nevada doing research on small scale csp. They are building a
prototype this fall.
Reply
18. Renewzle Knowledge Base Blog Archive Clean Energy Intro: What is
Solar Thermal Power? said
September 16, 2008 @ 9:00 pm
[...] exciting news has been emerging about solar-thermal. Its been demonstrated as reliable for over
twenty years, and new plants are coming online, or being planned, across the world. Energy is not the only
[...]
Reply
19.
Linn Gillsaid
January 14, 2010 @ 9:53 pm
I see everyone is still chasing the sun , Well if someone would ask nicely I would show them an easier and
cheaper way to get the same or better results. I wount sell the cow for beans but if somone wants to see
how to produce power from sun light even in the dark give me a e-mail @ TAGz3339 yohh
Reply
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 9/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
10/14
20.
byezz said
May 6, 2010 @ 7:12 am
anybody could give some info about difference between parabolic dish,dish sterling and parabolic trough?
im student interested in green tech-solar powered electrical system..tq
Reply
21.
IXLNXS said
July 3, 2010 @ 2:00 pm
Using the principles of reflective light and heat you can easily build water treament plants that would notonly produce clean drinking water but also electricity. All the parts already exist in differing mechanisms
and just need to be combined to begin distilling seawater for a multitued of purposes.
Reply
22.
reza said
November 24, 2010 @ 9:12 am
dear
I want completly information about this tecnology and money and capital for buy 20 Mwat of this system
for instalation near a ready powerhouse by gas fuel .
I want completly information about money and capital for buy a gas turbine sysytem by 20Mwat power
tancks alot
Reply
23.
Dale Jamer said
February 19, 2011 @ 10:17 pm
Great Post this will help keep up the good work.
Reply
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 10/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
11/14
gfedc Notify me of follow-up comments via email.
gfedc Notify me of new posts via email.
RSS feed for comments on this post TrackBack URI
Leave a Reply
Tom Konrad, Ph.D.
is a policy wonk and investment analyst specializing in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.
This blog is focused on clean energy policy and economics. He also writes about Clean Energy stock
market investments at AltenergyStocks.com.
Search
Search
Email Subscription
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Sign me up!
Guest
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 11/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
12/14
RSS - Posts
RSS - Comments
1356
Site Meter
Business
Clean Break
Cool Energy
Joel Makower
Marc Gunther
Economics
Mountain Town News
EE/RE
After Gutenberg
Green
Best Green Blogs
DeSmogBlogEcoGeek
Jetson Green
TommyWonk
investing
Alt Energy Stocks
Angels and Pinheads
Cleantech Blog
Seeking Alpha: Alt-e
Recent Posts
The Rebounding Rebound Effect & How to Dodge Jevons Paradox
Six more study tips for the CFA exam.
A Greener Way to Shorten
Do we really need a quick charging infrastructure for EVs?
Outdoor Advertising and LEDs: Jevons Paradox or Not?
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 12/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
13/14
Blog Stats
263,256 hits
Recent Comments
Energy Pundit on When it Makes Sense to Worry A
The Rebounding Rebou on When it Makes Sense to Worry A
EROEI of electricity on Managing the Peak Fossil Fuel
Tom on Six more study tips for the CF
Jeremy Fordham on Six more study tips for the CF
Most Popular Posts
Two Renewable Energy Penny Stocks
Visual Comparison of Electricity Generation Technologies
They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating Solar Power
Another Cost Comparison For Renewable Electricity
Categories
AES Agriculture Biodiesel biofuels blogs Carbon Dioxide Emissions Colorado Denver Metro Economics electric grid Energy
Energy efficiency Energy Investing Ethanol Events Global Warming investing
Investing information Nonprofits Peak Oil photovoltaics Policy Politics PVRenewable Energy Technology Tooting my own horn Uncategorized wind Wind power
Tags
Alternative energyARRAbrakesCaliforniacellulosicChristmasClaire Levyclean energycofiringColorado
Community Solar GardensCREAElectric VehiclesEnergy AdvocacyEnergy efficiencyenvironmentalEVFreddie MacgiftsgivingGreat PlainsGreen CompaniesHB10-1342Jevons
ParadoxmagazineMatt Bakeroil shalePACEPHEVPlug-in HybridPriusProp 7Property Assessed
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
cleanenergywonk.com//they-do-it-wit 13/
-
8/6/2019 Clean Energy Wonk
14/14
Clean EnergyPublic Utilities CommissionRange-extended electric vehiclesREEVRenewable EnergyRitterSolarStockstar sandsTransmissionVinod KhoslawindWind power
Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Almost Spring by Beccary XHTML CSS
6/27/2011 They do it with Mirrors: Concentrating S
top related